Psyche
by asher.dreads
Summary: After Dean is arrested for murder, he and Sam make "friends" with an FBI agent.
1. No One Knows What its Like

One. No One Knows What it's Like

"Please, Eric. Just let me have five minutes with him." Jessica Taylor pleaded with her friend as she looked at the man on the other side of the glass chained to the table. Her southern accent rang through the corridor outside of the interrogation room.

"That's a bad idea Jess, and you know it. I know Beth was a friend of yours. This case is too personal for you." Agent Eric Jameson warned, flipping through the file in his hand.

"Let me ask you Eric. Do you have a best friend?" she asked turning to face the agent standing beside her. She could see the empathy on his face, but it didn't phase her.

"I do. Look, I can't begin to understand what you've been going through these past few months, but you can't let this take over your life." He said, closing the file.

"You're right. You _can't _understand. But try to understand this: Beth wasn't just my best friend. We were closer than sisters. Her parents died when we were ten. My parents took her in. _Ten, _Eric. There wasn't a moment of my life where Beth wasn't there. You want to tell me this is personal, well, you're damn right it's personal. If it were up to me, I'd put the needle in him now. Of course, that might be too humane after what he did to her." Her voice got cold.

"Jess, comments like that will get you off this case in a heartbeat. You need to check yourself before you go any further. Now I have all the compassion in the world for your situation, but you are not above the law. We're going to get this guy Jess, but we're going to do this by the book. I'm not going to let him get acquitted on some bullshit technicality, you understand?" Jameson said sternly. "Now, I'm willing to let you go in there, but the minute I start to feel uneasy, I'm pulling you out." Jessica nodded, thanks in her eyes as she took the file Jameson handed her and walked towards the door.

"So, Wesley Crandall… You've given us quite the run-around now wouldn't you say?" Jessica began, walking toward the criminal bound in front of her.

The man roamed his eyes up to meet hers and forced a half-smile. "Sending in a rookie now huh?"

"Oh, I'm no rookie. I'm Dr. Jessica Taylor. I'm a forensic psychologist working with the FBI, and I have to tell you Wesley, you are one interesting specimen. I've been putting together your profile for months and now to have you here in front of me? Well, now today is the best day of my life."

"So you're like my number one fan huh?" Crandall leaned back in his chair watching the look on her face. He was starting to worry about the situation he was in now, but he couldn't let it show. That damn shape-shifter… killing people with his face. This was certainly making his job a hell of a lot harder that it already was.

"That's right. Keep it up funny boy. Keep cracking jokes. You're gonna end up on death row where that sense of humor will certainly come in handy." Agent Jameson said as he entered the room. "I got this, doctor." Jessica gave him one last glare before leaving the room.

"Damnit!" she yelled as she slammed her office door. She could feel the tears coming to her eyes and she choked them back immediately. She knew in her heart that this was the guy… this was the man that tortured and killed her best friend and he was so damn smug about the whole situation.

"_So I met this guy today… he's definitely a dime." Beth grinned from ear-to-ear as she pulled multiple outfits from her closet. "I'm meeting him for dinner and you have to help me! I can't figure out what to wear!" _

"_Oh please, Beth. You have more clothes than anyone else on this planet. So who is this guy?" Jessica asked her best friend from the bed she was sitting on. _

She felt like she was going to be sick. How could she deal knowing that she just looked into the same eyes that Beth looked into right before she died? Beth was so full of life; she had this desperate need to make everyone happy. Her laugh was infectious and her smile alone could light up a room. Who could do this to her? There was a special place in hell for people like Wesley Crandall and Jessica was sure she would be the one to send him there.

Jessica ran her hands through her hair while gathering her thoughts one last time before she heard a knock at her office door making her jump a bit at the sound. She turned around to see a rather tall man in a suit carrying a briefcase standing at the door.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." The man said softly with a polite smile. He extended his free hand to Jessica and she took it. "My name is Sam Jefferson. I'm here to see my client, Wesley Crandall." Any trace of a smile Jessica had on her face was immediately wiped away at the sound of his name.

"Dr. Jessica Taylor. Your _client_ is in the interrogation room right now and with any luck, he's telling the story of how he mutilated a poor woman back in April. Good luck getting him out of this one, counselor." She glared daggers at the lawyer standing in front of her.

"Huh. How about you just show me where I can find him… _please._" He scoffed.

After Sam kicked Jameson out of the interrogation room to talk to his client, Jameson received a call prompting him to leave the station with the only other detective in the office. This left Jessica with an extreme opportunity… a very _illegal_ opportunity, but an opportunity nonetheless. She looked through the window at Crandall with his lawyer and turned the volume up to listen in on the conversation.

"-that son of a bitch. This is really starting to get on my nerves." Crandall said angrily.

"Yeah, well, you may just have to sit this one out. Honestly, I don't know what we're gonna do." The lawyer responded.

"The hell I am. We're getting me out of here, Sammy." Jessica's brow furrowed in confusion. It was obvious these two knew each other on a deeper level than just client/lawyer.

"So what do you suggest? Because I'm drawing a big blank here. I don't think you realize how much trouble you're in here, Dean. I mean, this is serious."

_Dean? Sam? Where have I heard those names before?_

"Yeah, I get it. I'm cuffed to a table… this is bad. But you know… these things have a way of working themselves out." Dean said ever so nonchalantly.

"Working themselves out? This is yet _another_ murder you've been accused of, and you're banking on it 'working itself out'. Well, I'm glad you've got this figured out. I'll just wait back at the motel." Sam mocked.

_Sam. Dean…_ Lightbulb. _Hendrickson. _Jessica walked to the nearest computer and found the names she was looking for. Winchester.


	2. We'll Make the Great Escape

Two. We'll Make the Great Escape.

Jessica made her way to the computer room and found her favorite tech watching the camera systems from all three interrogation rooms. At the moment, Sam and Dean were the only occupants. The sight of David in the room brought a smile to her face; she knew this was going to work in her favor.

"Hi David." She announced. The mousy grad student with the black-rimmed glasses smiled at the sound of her voice, the accent told him who it was before he even turned around.

"Dr. Taylor, my favorite person to talk to." He responded, his grin getting bigger by the second.

"Please David, call me Jessica." She smiled. "Listen, I have a favor to ask."

"Sure, anything."

"I need for you to turn the cameras off in room two, please." She held her breath. Just because she thought he would do it didn't mean he actually would.

"Um, ok. Sure. Why?" David asked.

"I just need to speak with Mr. Crandall, but I need it off the record. He knows he's being recorded and I need to talk to him without the red light. You know, helps the profile." She lied.

She watched as David hit the button shutting off camera two and smiled again. "Thanks so much David." she turned to leave when she remembered the most important thing. "Oh and David?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's just keep this between us ok?"

"Yeah, sure Jessica. I'm just gonna go take a break. Want anything?"

"I'll take a coke. Thanks David." She answered, knowing he had gotten the hint that she wanted to be alone with the suspect.

She made her way back to the interrogation room where Sam and Dean were still discussing how to get Dean out of his current situation. After taking a deep breath, Jessica opened the door causing both men to instantly look her way with stone faces.

"Gentlemen." She began, "Just out of curiosity, and this is completely off the record… but who exactly are you two?" she blurted out.

"I'm sorry? I don't understand what you mean." Sam spoke up.

"Who is Wesley Crandall?" she asked, getting to the point.

"Wow. Lady, you really are a wack-job." Dean laughed.

"_He's_ Wesley Crandall." Sam answered, pointing to the man across from him.

"Now, see… that's not exactly true. Is it _Dean_?" she asked pointedly.

"You listened in on our conversation?" Sam asked, eyes wide. "That's illegal. Are you trying to get this case dismissed?"

"It's illegal huh?" Jessica shrugged. "Because I was under the impression that that would only be illegal when real lawyers are involved… of which you are not. Privilege doesn't apply here, Sam. So I'm gonna ask one more time: who is Wesley Crandall?" her voice got more harsh.

"Wesley Crandall doesn't exist." Dean started with Sam glaring at him.

"Dean, shut up."

"No, Dean, please… continue. This is all off the record. No cameras." She assured him, pointing to the lack of red light coming from the corner of the room.

"Right. So, Wesley Crandall is just an alias I use sometimes." Jessica pulled up a chair, intently listening to every word spoken. "My name is Dean, but you already knew that."

"But not just any Dean… no, no, no. You are the infamous Dean Winchester. Funny, you've been declared dead on more than one occasion."

"I can explain that." Sam started.

"No need. We have a mutual friend, you and I. Does the name Hendrickson mean anything to you?" the terrified look on Sam's face answered the question for her. "You see, Hendrickson and I sort of have a history. At least we did before he was killed."

"We didn't kill him." Sam argued.

"Lucky for you, before he declared you dead, he made a phone call to me… told me you two helped him fight off a bunch of demons in the precinct. I thought he was crazy."

"You're not the first to think that, sweetheart." Dean half-smiled.

"I believe in demons. Lord knows I do… but his story just sounded impossible. Is it true? Did you save all those people like he said?" She asked, almost begging for it to be true.

"Yeah. It's true." Sam answered softly. Saving those people came with a price and it wasn't a memory he particularly enjoyed. One look at Dean told the same story.

Realization hit Jessica like a brick wall and tears began to well up in her eyes. "You didn't kill Bethany Saunders did you?" she asked, looking directly at Dean.

Dean noticed the sudden change of emotion on her face and he softened his expression. "Look, I've been trying to tell you that for the past hour. I've never even met a Bethany Saunders." Jessica nodded and one tear escaped its prison. She immediately wiped it away not wanting her vulnerability known.

"Who was she?" Sam asked with all the care in the world in his eyes.

"She was my sister." Jessica answered turning to him. "She was on her way home from a date. After we found Crandall's – I mean Dean's - prints on her jacket, we assumed the date was with him."

"I didn't kill her. But I can guarantee you I know what did." Dean spoke up.

"_What_ killed her?"

"Right. This thing, it's not human." He continued. "I mean, it's basically human, but can take on the form of other people. It's a shape-shifter and right now it's wearing me. That's why you found my prints."

"You really expect me to believe that?" She scoffed.

"Do you really think I killed her? You said Hendrickson told you what happened. If you can believe that, this shouldn't be so hard to believe."

"Let's say I do believe you." She sighed. "It wouldn't matter. Wesley Crandall is screwed… and as far as everyone here is concerned, Wesley Crandall is you."

"You said you're with the FBI right?" Sam brought up. Her nod led him to continue. "So this is just a police station. The feds have rank over these cops. Can't you get him out of here?" He questioned.

"You don't want me pulling the fed card, trust me. I pull him out for the feds and don't deliver, my career is over. Right now, his best bet is to get the case thrown out."

"Let me ask you this." Dean cut in. "You want this thing dead right? You were ready to kill me right? It killed your sister and you want it dead."

"You have no idea." She answered staring at the table.

"Yeah, I think I do. So this thing, it's not human. You kill it, and there's no justice to be paid; just pure unadulterated revenge. How does that sound?" He pursed his lips together and narrowed his eyes looking right at Jessica.

"Say I let you go. How do I know you're not gonna just disappear the minute you're released?" she got a bit closer to Dean. "I risk _my_ job, _my_ name… then what?" she asked.

"Come with us." He answered.

"What? Dean, no." Sam stated firmly. "She's goes up against that thing, she's dead."

"You come with us. We'll hunt this thing and I'll show you how to kill it. You can even pull the trigger." Dean said ignoring his brother.

"You can't be serious." Sam scoffed. "Listen, Dr. Taylor,"

"Jessica." She interrupted. "My name is Jessica."

"Fine, Jessica." Sam continued. "This isn't a case like you're used to. It's way more dangerous. We've fought these before and it gets tricky. It wouldn't be right" – he turned his focus to Dean "to involve you."

"I'm a big girl, Sam. I can handle myself." She insisted.

"So, what do you say?" Dean asked, getting to the point. Jessica felt both sets of eyes on her and she weighed the pros and cons in her mind. After she made her decision, she stood up slowly and turned to exit the room.

She walked back to the camera room and found David again. "I got your coke." He chimed.

"Thanks David. I really do appreciate this. Hey, do you know if Jameson is back yet?"

"Yeah, I think they just got back."

"Good. Can you turn camera two back on please?"

"Sure thing, Jess." Jessica smiled and walked back towards the interrogation room. She made eye contact with Jameson down the hallway and turned into the room. The look she gave Jameson made him nervous and he followed her.

"Hello again sweetheart." Dean said as she entered the room. She shut the door and Sam stood up, noticing the red light shining once again on the camera. Jessica walked straight to Dean as if on a mission.

"What are you doing?" Sam started and Jessica balled a fist hurling it straight into his gut. As he hunched over in pain, she made her way to Dean and began wailing fists into his face over and over again. The door opened and Jameson ran to her trying to pull her away.

"Jessica! Stop it!" he yelled as he was finally able to peel her off of Dean. "He's not worth it." He shouted as he threw her towards the door. "Get out!" he finished.

Once she was gone, Sam was able to stand back up and he too left the room. "What the hell was that?" he yelled at Jessica.

"I was making sure he'd be released." She answered matter-of-factly. "Once he gets out, which will probably be in the morning, you call me." She continued on handing Sam a piece of paper. "You guys are gonna need a place to stay. I just live a few miles from here and I have a guest room." Sam just nodded in thanks. "Oh and Sam? If I don't hear from you, I'm coming after the both of you myself. Don't doubt me for a minute. Understand?"

"Yeah. Got it. Thank you." Sam responded. He watched her with intense curiosity as she sauntered down the hallway back into her office. _Maybe she wouldn't be so bad after all. The way she threw a punch, they could definitely use her._

* * *

"Hey, thanks man." Dean said to the detective, wiping some blood off the corner of his mouth onto his sleeve. "Can you uncuff me now?" he asked.

"Shut up Crandall." Jameson hissed throwing some tissues onto the table. "I'll be back." He said and left the room.

"Hey where's my lawyer?" Dean shouted. Jameson just kept walking.

"You gonna explain to me why you just sent us back in this case? You realize we're gonna have to let him go now right?" Jameson yelled as he walked into Jessica's office. "I thought you wanted to catch Beth's killer!"

"I do." She stated.

"Really? Because we caught him, and here you are beating the shit out of him. No judge is going to allow this to continue now! What the hell were you thinking?"

"I don't know." She answered, her voice getting louder.

"That's ok. I'm putting in a call to your superior." He nodded. "I tried to help you out here Dr. Taylor. I really did. So, thanks a lot." He threw his hands in the air and left the room.

* * *

The next morning Jessica woke up and walked down the hallway pausing at Beth's old room. She pushed the door open and saw the clothes from that night still lying on the bed. "_This is all for you."_ She thought to herself as she pulled the door back. _Need. Coffee._ Damn phone woke her up earlier than she had expected.

Coffee in hand, she made her way to the living room and plopped down on the couch, the warm liquid soothing her throat and awakening her mind. Five minutes passed with Jessica just staring at the wall when she heard the doorbell. _Right on time._

She opened the door and Sam and Dean stood with duffel bags over their shoulders. She stepped to the side beckoning them to enter. Once they passed, she turned to face them, checking the gun she had in the back of her jeans… just in case.

"So the judge dismissed the case. For now." Sam spoke.

"Yeah, I heard." Jessica responded.

"How bad is it?" He asked.

"Three weeks suspension. No pay."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. It could've been worse. I assaulted a suspect... suspension is a gift at this point." She answered as she walked passed them, coffee still in hand.

"I'm fine, by the way." Dean said sarcastically. "And you won't be needing that gun." he finished pointing at her back.

"Can't be too careful." Dean noticed she didn't remove the gun and the two men followed her into the kitchen. "So, where are we on this… what did you call it?"

"Shape-shifter."

"Right. Shape-shifter. So, where are we?" She asked again.

"Listen, sweetheart… can you please put the gun away? You're making Sammy here nervous." Sam looked at Dean with disbelief.

"I never took you two for pansies. Way I hear, you spend most of your time around guns." She retorted. "And another thing… don't call me sweetheart. I'm rather attached to my name so I would prefer you use it." They watched as she took the gun out of her jeans waist and laid it on the counter. "Satisfied?" she asked taking another sip of her coffee.

"Was Beth married?" Sam asked. He figured it would be best to move on from the pissing contest Jessica and Dean had started.

"No. Why?"

"Nothing, it's just… your name is Taylor… and I don't see a ring on your finger."

"Beth and I aren't biologically related. My parents took her in when we were ten. They never legally adopted her, but she's still my sister. Blood can't compare to how close we were." Her eyes got sad again and Sam was sorry he asked. "Let's just find this thing so I can kill it."

"It won't be easy. Have you ever killed someone before?" Dean asked. She looked confused and he continued on. "This thing looks human. Right now it looks like me. If you kill it, it'll feel like you're killing a person. Are you prepared for that?"

"It killed Beth. I'm more than prepared."

"Good. Let's get started."


	3. Lie to Me

Three. Lie to Me

One week had passed since the Winchester's showed up at her doorstep and they were making little progress towards finding the creature that killed her sister. There were no signs that it was even still in town. Jessica was starting to worry that she had made a mistake letting these two out of the precinct and started formulating a plan to avenge Beth all on her own. She was slowly starting to doubt Dean's innocence. The brothers left to get something to eat when she decided to get some fresh air. She grabbed her keys and jacket, but not before sliding a silver knife into the pocket. They had told her that silver kills a shape-shifter, and while she may doubt Dean, it didn't mean she couldn't take precautions.

She rounded the corner of her street when she felt the vibration from her phone. When she pulled the phone out of her pocket, her heart nearly stopped at the name across the screen: Beth.

* * *

"I say we just leave." Sam argued.

"Why? This is a job Sam… plain and simple. You and I both know the shifter is still here. We find it, we waste it… then we shag ass." Dean responded while shoving a fry into his mouth.

"I just don't understand why we have to lie to her." Sam gave Dean 'the look' and Dean sighed.

"You wanna tell her the truth?"

"No. I want to _leave_." Sam emphasized. "It's not like she can't handle herself. You taught her how to kill it, we should be focusing on getting you out of your deal… we're running out of time, you know."

"You think I don't know that?" Dean was getting angry. "Damnit Sam… I told you… we try to get me out of it, you die. That's not happening. So if I'm going down, I'm gonna take as many evil sons-of-bitches down with me… this shifter included. Hurry up and eat. I wanna get back soon… I don't feel right leaving her alone if it really is after her."

Sam just gawked at his brother from across the table wondering how he could be so nonchalant about this whole situation. Dean had made the deal for him… traded his soul for Sam's life. It was Sam's fault Dean was destined for hell, and it would be Sam that would save him… whether Dean liked it or not. This one little job wasn't worth it to Sam if it meant taking any time away from the big picture. Sure, he appreciated her help in getting Dean released, but it wasn't worth his brother's life and Sam was inclined to be selfish when it came to such matters.

"You gonna just stare at me or can we leave?" Dean asked after finishing his fries. Sam stood up and walked to the door with Dean close behind.

* * *

"Hello?" Jessica was barely able to get the simple word out as she answered the phone.

"_Jess? Oh my god, Jess! Please, help me. I don't know where I am…"_ the voice on the other end pleaded.

"Beth?" she could feel the tears threatening her again. "Beth, don't worry… I'm coming for you. Can you tell me where to find you?" her voice shook.

"_I can see a farmhouse down the road, but I don't know where I am… I don't see any signs."_ Beth was crying now. _"Jess, I'm scared. What if he finds me again?"_

"Who? Who's going to find you?"

"_I don't know his name! I don't know how long he's had me Jess. I… I lost count."_

"Shh… it's ok. I'm coming for you. Listen to me… I want you to go to the farmhouse and get the address. I'll stay on the phone with you." There was a few moments of silence on both ends when she spoke again, "Beth, I thought you were dead. We found your body."

"_It wasn't me. There was another girl… he told me he let her go. It must've been her. Oh god…"_ Beth trailed off in sobs. _"I… I think I see a sign… Robleson Ranch?"_

"That's off of 30… I've seen that place before. Beth, I want you to stay there ok? I'm on my way now… it'll be about 30 minutes, ok?" There was silence on the other end and Jessica could feel her heart breaking. "Don't be scared Beth. You're going to be alright, ok?"

"_Ok."_ Jessica could tell Beth was trying to control her breathing. _"Just please, hurry."_ And the line went dead.

* * *

Dean slowly pulled up into the driveway, noticing the lack of the other vehicle in its usual spot. _Where could she have gone? I told her to stay put._ "Where'd she go?" he heard his brother ask.

"Hell if I know." Dean trailed off. They both exited the car when Sam's phone began to chime.

"Yeah?" Sam's face got stone cold when he heard what came next.

"_Beth's alive. I'm almost to her. I need you both to meet me out here… Robleson Ranch off Hwy. 30."_

"No. Jessica, don't go out there. She's dead… whatever that is, it isn't Beth." Dean was listening intently to his brother. _That's it… I'm kicking her southern ass._

"_Either meet me here, or I'll have the cops at my place within five minutes to have you both arrested."_ She argued.

Sam rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine. We're on our way… just wait for us. Don't meet up with her on your own." He said and ended the phone call. "Robleson Ranch off Hwy. 30." He shot at Dean.

"Didn't we pass that on our way into town?" Dean asked. He got back behind the wheel and turned over the engine. "This chick is really starting to piss me off." He mumbled under his breath.

After a 30 minute drive they made it out to the ranch and saw Jessica's car pulled over to the side of the road. "Of course she didn't listen." Sam scoffed. "She could be dead by now." He added, making sure to load silver bullets in his gun.

"Yeah, well, let's go check it out." Dean said turning the car off. The brothers got out of the car and made sure to secure their guns in their waistbands before heading out to look for their most recent partner.

Finding the two women wasn't so hard; there weren't very many places that weren't simply out in the open. Sam's heart broke when he saw the way Jessica was helping her sister make it back out to the road and then it mended when he remembered that wasn't her sister. Dean put one hand back on his gun and they both continued to walk towards them. As they got closer, they heard Beth scream.

"It's him! Jess, it's him!" she shrieked.

"Of course… why would this be easy?" Dean scoffed to himself.

"Jess, please! You have to get us out of here!" Beth continued to shout.

"Whoa whoa whoa… let's just be calm." Sam started, but he felt a fist connect with his jaw and figured that was a rather pointless statement.

"You son of a bitch." Jessica seethed as she raised her gun at Dean. "I knew it was you! She got away and you _knew_ she would contact me! So you told me what you thought I needed to hear to trust you so you could get her back. You're sick!" she yelled as she pistol-whipped him across the face sending him backwards into the ground. "Get up." She growled.

Dean picked himself up off the ground and whipped out his gun as well, pointing it at Beth. Her mouth curled up in a grin and she started to laugh. Jessica slowly turned around to face her sister, keeping her gun squared at Dean the whole time. She watched in horror as her sister's eyes flashed bright confirming what Sam had warned her about.

"No. Beth?" she pleaded.

"It's me Jess." She moved her focus to the woman in front of her. "He tortured that girl. He was going to do the same to me if I didn't get out of there." Her gaze grew somber again. "Please… you have to help me!" Jessica knew she was lying. It was the shifter telling her what she wanted to hear to further its agenda… and it was working. She knew it wasn't true, but the thought of someone hurting Beth made her blood boil. She turned back to Dean and pulled the trigger, landing a bullet in his shoulder. He yelled out in pain and fell to the ground.

The smile returned to Beth's face. "Now, was that so hard?" she asked. One hand landed across Jessica's face and sent her flying backwards landing inches from Dean who was struggling to reach his gun that landed on the other side of him. She was shocked at the force emitting from her best friend… her sister. The girl that cried when someone raised their voice… this certainly wasn't Beth. Jessica grunted and stood up only to be met by another one of Beth's fist slamming into her jaw. After the first punch was thrown, Beth continued to pummel her until she was charged by Sam, tackled to the ground.

Jessica could feel the blood dripping from her nose and she reached one hand up to wipe it away. She bent down and picked up Dean's gun before giving him a knowing glance, her tears creating a gleam in her eyes that Dean only recognized as a shattered heart. He grabbed his shoulder again and sat up watching the scene unfold in front of him.

Beth was able to push Sam off of her and tossed him aside once again going for Jessica. This time, Jessica was prepared and fired one round into Beth's chest killing her instantly. Sam rolled over and connected eyes with Dean before looking up to Jessica's face: it was full of shock. Her mouth was agape and her eyes were wide. She just stood there with the gun still in her hand. When she finally dropped the gun she used the hand to cover her mouth and she sank to the ground crying out "I killed her!" She crawled her way over to the shifter's lifeless body that so perfectly resembled her sister and she swept the hair out of Beth's eyes before using her fingertips to close her eyelids. She wasn't aware of how long she had been on the ground silently crying over her sister until she felt two strong arms hook under hers to pull her up. Her legs betrayed her and she went limp.

Sam helped Dean stand up and made sure he was ok. The two brothers watched the grieving process taking place in front of them and Dean knew it wouldn't be long before cops showed up. Someone had to have heard the gunshots and there would be no getting out of this one. Sam gave him a questioning look and Dean nodded his head towards Jessica, giving him permission to remove her from her place on the ground. Sam stood behind her for a second more before lifting her up and eventually carrying her back to the road with Dean close behind.

"What about her car?" Sam asked. "We can't leave it here."

"I'll drive her." Dean answered.

"Your shoulder?"

"It's fine. Just get me her keys so we can get out of here."

When Sam got no response as to where her keys were, he knew she still had to be in shock. One look at her face confirmed the diagnosis. He reached in her jacket pocket and found the keys along with a knife she must've taken with her out of precaution… smart move. When they got to her car, he lowered her into the passenger seat before handing Dean the keys. "I'll meet you back at her place." He gave Jessica one last touch on the shoulder before heading back to the Impala. Dean turned over the engine silently thanking God that she hadn't shot his right shoulder. He put the car in drive and took off down the road. He glanced at her periodically noting that the only movement coming from her was the silent tears that refused to stop flowing. He knew this had to be tough for her, but there was nothing he could say. Her sister was gone.


	4. Too True to be Good

Four. Too True to be Good

"Look, I know you're freaked out. But could you say _something_?" Dean asked after 20 minutes of silence in the car. "You're starting to freak me out." He looked over at her as she turned to face him. Her eyes went straight to his shoulder where he had wrapped part of his shirt over the wound, blood staining the lighter parts of the fabric.

"Sorry I shot you." She said softly. Her eyes met his and he smiled a little at how sincere she seemed to be. She was a hard ass, but he was grateful she had a softer side.

"I'm fine. I'll fix it up when we get back. Don't worry about it." He turned his gaze back to the road.

"I can fix it." She began to focus on the scenery out the window before gently closing her eyes. "What would you have done?" she asked, her eyes still closed.

"What?" he looked at her in confusion.

"If it had been Sam… what would you have done?" she repeated. She opened her eyes and met his again. "I just can't stop thinking that I killed my sister."

Dean pulled the car over and saw Sam do the same in the rearview mirror. He motioned his hand out the window for Sam to continue on, and reluctantly, Sam obliged. "Look, and I want you to listen to me." He started. "You did nothing wrong. That was not your sister… that _thing_ was trying to manipulate you and it failed. What you killed wasn't human. Do you understand?" His voice started getting more stern and it shocked even him. "I would have done the same thing. I probably would've skipped getting shot, but not everything goes the way you want." He said a little softer hoping she would at least attempt to smile, but no such luck. She just nodded her head and looked back out the window. He steered the car back on the road and continued the journey back to her place.

"Damnit Sam! You're a freaking butcher!" Dean yelled before taking another swig from the whiskey bottle.

"I can't get it. Can you just sit still?" Sam yelled back at his brother. His fingers were covered in blood from trying to get the bullet out of his shoulder.

"I said I would do that." Jessica said poking her head into the guest bathroom. They both turned to look at her. Dean gave his brother a look that said 'get out' and Sam rolled his eyes.

"Good luck." Sam offered sarcastically and left the room.

Jessica smiled slightly at Dean before making her way to where he was sitting on the counter. She took the bottle of whiskey from his hand letting her fingers linger on his for a moment. "Do you need a hand to hold?" she smirked.

"Ha. I see you're in a better mood." He rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. Thanks to you." She looked up into his eyes and he noted her sincerity. "This is gonna sting a bit." She added before pouring some of the liquid over his shoulder in order to kill infection.

Dean hissed in pain and closed his eyes. He felt her tiny fingers plunge into the wound and his eyes shot back open. "Holy!" he shouted.

"I know, I know… did I mention I was sorry?" she tried to calm him down. She was able to find the bullet and pulled it out quickly. "There. It's out." She dropped the bullet on the counter and grabbed a warm rag to press to his shoulder. She picked up his hand and placed it over the rag. "Hold that there. I'll be right back."

"He's such a baby." Sam said when he saw Jessica round the corner back into the bedroom. She smiled at him and grabbed the gauze and medical tape from her medicine cabinet.

"There's sodas in the fridge." She told Sam when she noticed he was watching a football game on TV. "Help yourself." She headed back to the guest bathroom where Dean was still holding the rag against his shoulder. She removed it and bandaged the wound. "There. All better." She said patting him on his right shoulder. "Your brother is watching the game if you want to join him. I have to make a phone call." Dean nodded and walked off down the hallway.

Jessica walked into the kitchen and grabbed her phone, dialing the number she knew all too well. After the second ring the voice on the other end was of immense comfort.

"_Hey, sis._" Said a male voice, the accent matching her own.

"Hey, Kendall. How's Bridget and the kids?"

"_Good, good. How are you doing? Have you given any thought to my offer?_" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah, actually. I think you're right. It's time for a change… do you think you could help me find a place?"

"_Of course. I'll have Bridget start looking. Why don't you come up here for a visit? I know we're quite a ways from Savannah, but I think you can convince the feds to give you a week._"

"They've given me three." She laughed.

"_What? How'd you pull that off?_"

"Suspension. It's a long story that you probably wouldn't believe, but I'll tell you all about it when I get there. Is next week ok?"

"_Sure thing. We'll clear out a room for you. The kids have been asking about you… they really miss you._"

"Tell them I miss them too. See you guys soon. Love you, Kendall."

"_Love you too, Jess. Bye._"

Jessica put the phone back on the receiver and grabbed three sodas out of the fridge before heading back to watch the rest of the game with the guys.

* * *

The next morning Jessica said goodbye to the Winchesters. She got a list of their common aliases to keep them out of the system, or to at least alert the brothers when they were being pursued. Soon enough, a month had passed, landing the Winchesters in South Dakota with the only father-figure they had left: Bobby Singer.

"I just don't know, boys." Bobby said walking back into the library. "I just can't seem to get a handle on this Lilith bitch. You say she holds your contract?"

"Yeah… so she's the only one who can break the deal." Dean sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Maybe we should call Ruby." Sam spoke up.

"No. Sam, we're not trusting a demon to help us kill another demon. We'll find her." Dean cut him off.

"Dean, how many times am I going to have to explain this to you?" Sam began.

"You can explain all you want to Sam. It's not gonna work. We are _not_ including her in this. We can figure this out on our own. Stop bringing it up or I swear I'm gonna give you a major beat down." Dean interrupted again. Sam slammed his book shut and stormed out of the room. Dean started to follow him when Bobby put his arm out to stop him.

"Stop it, the both of you." He stated firmly. "Now, I love you boys like my own, but I'm sick and damn tired of watching you bicker like schoolgirls. I can't concentrate on my research to help you out because I have to keep playing referee between you two. I love you boys, but you've got to go. Take a break, lay low for a while… just not here."

By this time Sam had made his way back into the library and couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What?" he asked incredulously. "We have less than two months left and you want us to take a break? Bobby, no."

"Yes." Dean said softly. Sam turned to look at him with the same look of disbelief on his face. "I'm tired, Sammy… tired of the road, tired of fighting with you. I say we pack up and head out… how bout New York? We can go visit Sarah, remember? Bobby will let us know when he finds something, right?" he asked looking to Bobby. He nodded his head and Sam was even more dumbfounded.

"I don't believe this. You said you _didn't_ want to die… _didn't _want to go to Hell."

"I don't. But Sam, this? This constant crap lately is gonna kill me before my time's up. A week… all I'm asking for is a week." Dean explained sincerely. Sam didn't like it, but just because Dean wanted a break didn't mean Sam had to take one.

"Fine. I'll indulge your little trip, but I'm gonna keep looking for Lilith." He scoffed.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from ya Sam." Dean half-smiled. "Let's pack up."

* * *

Sam stared at the screen of his computer, the tapping of the keyboard drowning into the sounds of the diner he was sitting in. He was so involved with what he was doing that he didn't hear the blonde woman calling his name beside him.

"Sam? Sam Winchester, is that you?" her voice finally snapped him out of his trance.

"Huh?" he looked up and couldn't believe his eyes. "Dr. Taylor?"

"How many times am I gonna have to ask you to call me Jessica?" she asked and he smiled his 'I'm sorry' smile. "Mind if I sit?" she motioned to the seat across from him.

"No, please." He answered, closing his laptop. "So what are you doing here? Phillipstown, Indiana is quite a ways from Savannah."

"I live here now." She answered as she sat. "What are _you_ doing here? Do we have some paranormal activity in our little Phillipstown?" she joked.

"Ha, no. Well, I'm not sure… but that's not why we're here." He answered.

"Yeah, speaking of 'we'… where is Dean?"

"He's out riding around, probably looking for a motel or food or both."

"Food? Um… you're in a diner." She pointed out sarcastically.

"Yeah. I was starting to get on his nerves I guess." He smiled. "Research isn't his thing."

"Guess not." She replied taking a sip of her drink.

"So you moved here? Not to be rude, but why?" Sam asked. "This is pretty small-town for a fed."

"Oh, I'm not a fed anymore. I handed in my resignation the day after you guys left. I moved up here to be closer to my brother. He and his wife have lived here for a few years. I just do consulting work with the police department a few cities over. I like it here though. It's quiet." She took another drink and looked back at Sam. He looked worn out. "So you guys just passing through?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh, I guess. I really don't know." He answered.

"You seem distracted. Is something wrong, Sam?"

"What? No, why?" he answered slightly flustered.

"Sam. You forget I'm a therapist by trade. It's my job to know when there's a problem, and right now your face is telling me there's a problem. So, what's the problem?" She stared directly into his eyes to wait for his response.

"It's just this case." He sighed. "We're on a deadline and it's coming up soon. We kinda hit a wall with it and Dean wants to take a break. I'm worried about him. I'm worried we aren't going to finish this." Sam had no idea why he was laying all this on the table to someone who wasn't much more than a stranger to him, but it didn't stop him from continuing.

"I see. What exactly is this case you're working on?" Jessica asked.

"I don't think it's my place to tell you that. It's kind of Dean's deal."

"Right. Well, I know you didn't ask for my opinion, but you're gonna get it anyway. If this is Dean's deal, then I think you need to let Dean decide how to handle it. I know I don't know everything that's involved, but I think a break might not be such a bad idea. I'm gonna be honest here, so please don't take offense. Your job sucks, plain and simple. It's tough, dirty, and I'm sure exhausting at times." She paused and watched Sam nod his head in agreement. "I feel safer knowing you guys are out there, but not if you're running on empty. Take some time to recharge." She put her hand on Sam's and smiled. "You're not supernatural, Sam… you're human. Let yourself enjoy that at some point… even if it's only a few days." Sam returned her smile and nodded again. "Now, you said Dean's out looking for a motel?"

"Yeah."

"That's no place to spend a vacation. The motels here are disgusting. Why don't you guys stay with me? I've got a spare bed and a comfy couch. I'm going to my brother's house tonight for drinks, you two should come along. I think it'll help you unwind." She offered.

"I don't know. I'll have to talk to Dean… he kind of likes motels." Sam joked.

"I'm not taking no for an answer." She responded, scribbling something on a piece of paper. "Here's my address. Why don't you guys come by around 6?" Jessica's phone began to ring in her purse and she dug it out and smiled at the name on the screen. "Listen, I have to take this, but I'm glad I ran into you." She stood up and grabbed the bag of food that had been waiting for her. "Oh, and Sam, don't be late." She smiled and walked to the door, answering her phone. "Hey, Bridget. I'm on my way back with the food now. Sorry it took me so long." Sam listened to her voice trail off as she walked out the door. This was going to be an interesting week.

Six o' clock rolled around and Sam and Dean landed on Jessica's doorstep right on time. She and Dean exchanged their form of pleasantries and the three of them left in her car to go to her brother's house. When they got there, Jessica began the introductions.

"Kendall!" she exclaimed, giving her brother a hug. "Kendall, this is Sam and Dean Winchester… the ones I told you about, remember?"

"No way!" his face lit up. "She's told me so much about you two. I'm Kendall Taylor, and this is my wife Bridget." He extended his hand to Sam then Dean and then led them into the living room. "Beer?" he asked.

"Please." Dean answered. "If I remember correctly, she only has sodas." He scoffed.

"Well, anyone that helps my sister cap the thing that killed Beth deserves a beer or two in my book." Kendall said.

"You told him about that?" Dean asked turning to Jessica.

"Of course I did." She answered very matter-of-factly.

"What did you tell him?" Sam whispered to her.

"The truth…" she mocked.

"I'm just glad that damn shifter is dead. Beth was important to our family… especially to Jess and I. You really helped out our family. You need anything, just name it and it's yours." Kendall responded before taking a swig of his beer.

"So you're telling me she told you about the shifter?" Dean asked in disbelief.

"Yeah."

"And you believed her?" he was absolutely dumbfounded. How could they be in a room of civilians so ready to accept the presence of supernatural forces this easily?

"Well, yeah I believe her. Why wouldn't I?"

"No reason." Dean nodded with a bewildered smile before he downed a giant portion of his beer.

The rest of the night was spent drinking and talking about things other than the supernatural, much to Sam and Dean's surprise. Neither of them could figure out how the three of them could be so blasé about the whole situation. When it came time to leave, Sam was beyond wasted, and Dean was helping his brother back out to Jessica's car. Jessica said goodbye to her brother and sister-in-law and helped Dean with Sam.

"Your brother sure knows how to hold his liquor." Jessica laughed.

"Oh yeah. What was your first clue?" Dean answered and shut the back door. He and Jessica got in the front and started the drive home.

When they got to her house, Dean helped Sam to the guest bedroom and then sat on the couch in the living room, trying to familiarize himself with his surroundings. He smiled when he saw what he presumed to be a family picture: Kendall with Bridget and two children, Jessica, Beth, another male he didn't recognize and an older couple he assumed to be her parents. He sensed movement in the hallway and switched his focus to see Jessica walk in the room with a blanket and pillow.

"Here." She said handing him the blanket and pillow. "The couch is very comfortable. If you need more than this I can get it for you."

"Nah… this is good." He smiled a thank you. "So hey, can I ask you something?" he asked as she sat down in a chair beside the couch.

"Shoot."

"So, you told your brother about us… about the shifter." He started.

"You want to know why he believed me?" she cut him off.

"Well, yeah."

"Kendall knows I wouldn't lie to him." She shrugged and stood up. "Well, I'm gonna turn in. Goodnight Dean." She turned to leave.

"No. That's not it." He suggested.

"Excuse me?" she asked turning back around.

"No. See, people don't just accept what we do. They don't have disbelief one second and belief the next. Most of the time when people find out about this stuff, they either want to hit us or put us in a straight-jacket… sometimes both. See, I don't think you just found out about this… I think you guys have seen this stuff before. You were incredibly quick to get me out of jail when you thought I killed your sister." He argued.

"I'm sorry, are you actually complaining about that?" she scoffed.

"Not at all. I'm thrilled you did it… it just doesn't make sense. Unless you already knew it was possible. So I want to know what happened." He crossed his arms in front of his chest and stared at her. The look on her face told him he was right.

Jessica froze in fear. She hadn't talked about what had happened in years, and she didn't really want to bring it up again. "Leave it alone, Dean." She whispered.

"What is it? Is something after you?" he asked, saddened by the look he saw in her eyes when they finally met his.

She blinked and shook her head, knocking her out of her trance. "No." she stated flatly. "Goodnight." She turned and made her way back to her bedroom. Dean heard the door shut and sighed, laying back down on the couch and drifted to sleep.

It seemed like the moment Dean was deep in slumber that a harsh light flooded in through his eyelids and he shot awake trying to focus on the source of the offending action. When his eyes finally adjusted, he saw the table lamp had been turned on and Jessica sitting in the same chair as earlier, tear stains on her cheeks.

"What's wrong? What happened?" He was completely alert at this point.

"I couldn't sleep. I want to tell you what happened." She said softly. Dean nodded and she continued. "Beth moved to my neighborhood in Savannah when we were nine. My parents took my older brother Jake to baseball practice and Kendall and I went to Beth's to welcome them to the neighborhood. We had been there less than an hour when all the power went out and it got real cold… I could see my breath, but it was the middle of summer. The three of us were upstairs in Beth's room and we heard her mom scream. Kendall tried to hide us in the closet, but he still found us." She looked down at her feet.

"Who?"

"Dr. Lesure. He was a pediatrician… in the 1930s. He ran experiments on kids for years before one of the parents burned his house down with him in it. When the house was rebuilt in the 50s, a family moved in. The parents were murdered and the two children had more drugs in their system than the doctors knew how to counteract. One of them died."

"Beth's house?" Dean asked, realization sinking in. Jessica nodded, still looking at the floor.

"Dr. Lesure found us upstairs and moved us to the basement. He never said anything to us, just used us as human pincushions. I don't know what all medications he shot into us, but Kendall had a bad reaction to something and started seizing. He just sat and watched… I don't know if it was fun for him or just educational, but he just watched my brother have a seizure. I was so doped up I could hardly move, and Beth was pretty sick herself." She finally looked back up at Dean. "I thought we were going to die."

"How'd you get out?"

"A man like you and Sam found us. He hit Dr. Lesure with a fire poker and he vanished. I may have been in an altered state, but I know what I saw. Beth and Kendall saw it too. That's why he believed me. My parents were convinced that we were just traumatized and we went through years of therapy, but I know what I saw. He was a spirit. That's what Bobby called him." She answered, flustered.

"Bobby?" Dean asked.

"The man that saved us. His name was Bobby."

"Bobby Singer?"

"Yeah. You know him?" her eyes lit up.

"Yeah, I do. He's like a father to me… he's up in North Dakota now." Dean answered. "So is that how Beth came to live with you?"

"He killed both of her parents. Her grandparents were given custody, but they couldn't take care of her. She bounced around the system for a while before the state finally allowed her to stay with us. Her grandparents didn't put up a fight, so she stayed. The adoption was never finalized, but she was still my sister." Dean nodded at her words.

"I'm sorry I brought it up." He offered, knowing that was what was keeping her awake.

"It's ok. I'm ok. I just thought you deserved to know." She moved over to the couch to sit next to Dean. "You and Sam are real close… like Beth and I… I never thanked you properly for helping me. Hell, I shot you." Her eyes got sad again when she glanced at his left shoulder.

"It's no big deal. It was a flesh wound… all better." He smiled. He watched as Jessica leaned in closer and placed her lips softly on his own. He was shocked at first, but soon closed his eyes and put a hand on the back of her neck, pulling her closer. Her lips parted slightly and he traced her bottom lip with his tongue, looking for an entrance. She gave in and allowed him to deepen the kiss. After a few moments, she broke the kiss and they just sat there staring at each other. Finally, Jessica broke the silence.

"Thank you." She whispered, a slight smile on her face.

"Anytime." Dean responded a bit bewildered. She stood up to walk back to her room and Dean couldn't hold it back. "You know, if you ever want to thank me again, it's cool with me." He smirked. She smiled back at him and continued on down the hallway.


	5. Give All My Secrets Away

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the wait. One word: finals. Hopefully I'll have more time now to write things that aren't school related :)

Five. Give All My Secrets Away

The next morning Sam woke up and immediately grabbed his head in agony. It took him a few minutes to remember where he was and he found his way to a bathroom. Waiting for him on the counter were two white pills and a bottle of water with a note that read 'this should help'. He downed the pills with the water before relieving himself, and then made his way into the living room where he saw his brother still sound asleep on the couch. He grabbed his head again and began the trail back to the guest room when he almost ran into Jessica coming out of her room.

"Oh god Sam, you scared me!" she exclaimed. She watched him flinch at her voice and immediately got quieter. "Did you take the medicine?" she whispered. He nodded and she put a hand on his forearm. "You'll be alright. You look like shit, but you'll be fine. You can go back to bed if you want. I'm going out for a bit." Sam just stood there staring at her and she shoved him into the room. "Go." She commanded.

Sam did as she asked, but not before turning to grab her wrist and pull her toward him. "I can't save him." He whispered harshly. "No one can."

"What?"

Without answering, Sam turned back to stumble over the bed and collapse into a mini-coma and she shut the bedroom door. She moved down the hallway to the living room and saw Dean in the same position Sam had, grabbed her keys and quietly left the house. What could he have meant? He had to have been talking about Dean, but why?

* * *

_Dean watched in amazement as her eyes grew wider and her mouth opened ever so slightly to catch her breath, her blonde hair cascading around her. He took the opportunity to lean down and catch her lips in a kiss, his tongue caressing hers sensually, eliciting a tiny moan from both of them. He moved one hand down to the soft skin at her hip and grazed her skin up and down with his fingertips causing her to shiver and arch up into him even further. He felt her small hands along his back, one working its way to his neck to pull him closer and the other holding onto him for dear life. As he continued to move inside her, he felt her walls tense up and he knew she was there. He released her mouth and pushed her hair back to watch as her eyes shut tightly and she half-screamed his name. Her toes curled up in satisfaction as they landed on his calf muscles and she opened her eyes to stare directly at the cause of her pleasure. The look in her eyes was enough to send him over the edge, but he held on. He had to know._

"_Do you love me?" he asked, almost out of breath. Dean always got the easy lays. It was the ones he truly wanted that let him down so easily and he could hardly believe this was real. _

"_Yes." She whispered back. "I love you." She put one hand to his cheek and he let everything go at her touch. _

Dean's eyes fluttered open and he groaned inwardly. Of course it had been a dream… why would something like that happen to him in real life? No. He was going to hell. Soon. Good things don't happen to Dean Winchester. It was one kiss and he had no idea why he was letting it affect him this way. He lifted himself slightly off the couch and sounds from the television set began to flood into his ears. As his eyes adjusted, he recognized the cartoons on the screen and furrowed his brow. He searched the rest of the room until his eyes landed on a small boy sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, his eyes glued to the television set. Dean sat all the way up and began to stand when the boy noticed him.

"Hello." The tiny voice said.

"Hi." Dean answered with a bewildered smile. "I'm just gonna… um, I'll be back." He turned around and a continued look of confusion lined his face. He made his way to the kitchen and saw Jessica with another small child, this one a female.

"Morning." Jessica smiled watching Dean saunter in the room. It had been a rough night for all of them, Sam most of all, but she couldn't help but smile at the look on this man's face.

"I didn't know you had kids." Dean said gruffly while rubbing his forehead.

"What? No, I don't. You must be talking about James. He's my nephew. This is Matilda, my niece… Kendall's kids. I went and picked them up this morning to help Bridget out. I told them not to bother you guys, so you should be fine. How'd you sleep?" she asked.

"Fine. Great, actually. This is much better than a motel, thanks." He muttered. "So, uh, about last night…" he trailed off.

"What about it?" she asked as she carried Matilda to the table. She got the toddler settled with some cheerios and walked back to the counter to face Dean.

"Well, you uh… we kissed." He sputtered out.

"_Ew!_" the little girl squealed from the table.

"Matilda, eat." Jessica warned. She looked back at Dean with a flat look on her face that he couldn't read. "So?"

"So?" Dean was definitely confused now. Weren't women supposed to be the ones all worried with meanings behind actions? Why was she acting so, well, like a man? "So everything's cool? No strings or anything?"

"Strings? Dean, it was a kiss. You did something nice for me, and I did something I thought would be nice for you. Was it not?" She explained.

"It was real nice." He answered quickly.

"Then why are we having this conversation?" This woman was extremely blunt and he was having a difficult time understanding her.

"I don't know, I guess." The look on his face made her giggle slightly.

"You hungry?" she asked.

"Starved."

"I brought donuts." She responded, pushing the box towards Dean. He graciously took one and began to devour it.

"Party boy is still comatose. He woke up earlier and took some Advil, but went back to bed. You think you should check on him?"

"Nah. Sammy will be fine. I'll wake him up soon. What's on the agenda today?" he asked with his mouth full.

"I'm sorry… I wasn't aware I was responsible for your social calendar as well." She answered sarcastically. "This hotel doesn't have a concierge service, Dean."

"Ha. Ok, so what are _you_ doing today?" he rephrased.

"This." She answered motioning at both children.

"How about dinner?" he asked hopeful, although he had no clue as to why.

"My gosh, Dean. It was a kiss. You don't need to buy me dinner." She laughed. She leaned down to pick up Matilda and when the child nestled on her hip, her shirt came up slightly revealing a sliver of porcelain skin. Instantly the dream flooded his thoughts and he knew he had to keep pressing.

"I know, I know. I was thinking the three of us could go. You know, bring Sam along… as a chaperone." He smirked. She rolled her eyes and he felt rather dumb for mentioning the last part. No cheesy pickup line was going to work on her and he knew it. "But seriously, please? It'll give us a chance to get to know each other better… all of us." He added.

"Ok, fine… dinner it is. Bridget is picking them up at 5, so how about 7? It'll give me some time to unwind." She surrendered.

"Good. Seven it is. I'm gonna go wake up Sam." He was excited that she had given in, but he still could not understand why he wanted this so badly.

"Leave him alone, Dean." Jessica shouted after him as he walked down the hallway. She heard the bedroom door open and rolled her eyes. "Your problem… not mine." She mumbled to herself. She heard slurred yelling and smiled slightly. "Always listen to Aunt Jess, ok Matilda?" she said looking at the three-year-old in her arms.

"Otay." Matilda nodded, making Jessica laugh.

"Can we listen to your music Aunt Jess? I'm tired of cartoons." The little boy asked as he entered the kitchen.

"You _are_?" she asked surprised. "Well, I guess we could, huh Matilda? Should we play some music with James?" she asked. The little girl nodded enthusiastically in response and she turned back to James. "What do you want to listen to?" she asked.

"My favorite song!" he answered becoming giddy.

"Dance!" Matilda shouted.

"Ok, let's go back in the living room and we can dance." She smiled.

* * *

"Rise and shine, Sammy!" Dean announced as he entered the room where Sam had been sleeping. Sam sat up slightly, looking rather pissed.

"Go away, Dean." He answered back equally as loud as his brother.

"I shouldn't have my fun taken away just because you can't handle your liquor." Dean said leaning against the door frame. "Jess said you took some pills. Good as new, huh?"

"Oh yeah… just peachy." Sam answered. He threw his legs over the bed to stand up. "Are we leaving?" he asked, stretching his arms over his head.

"Leaving? No."

"Come on Dean. We've indulged your little break now, can we please get back to trying to find Lilith? Sam argued.

"She kissed me last night, Sam." Dean smiled.

"What? Lilith?" Sam was fully awake now and thoroughly confused.

"No, not Lilith… Jess." He beamed.

"Seriously? You're putting off killing the demon that holds your contract so you can get laid?" Sam scoffed.

"No. Bobby's still working on that, remember? And I'm not stupid, Sam. I know you've been working on it too. I saw you take your laptop into that diner." He said accusingly. "I just want a week, man. If I'm going to Hell, I want to have at least lived normally for a week. I don't know what that feels like." He pleaded.

"Can't normal wait until _after_ we save you from the pit?" Sam asked, flustered.

"Get dressed. You look like shit." Dean said changing the subject. He heard music that he instantly recognized as Guns N' Roses coming from the other room. "Oh, hell yeah." His eyes lit up. "I like this chick." He smiled again and walked back down the hall.

"Whoa-oh-oh sweet child of mine! Whoa-oh-oh-oh, sweet love of mine." Jessica sang with James as she twirled Matilda around. She stopped when she saw Dean watching them from the start of the hallway. She watched as a smile crept across his face and she refused to be embarrassed. "Come on, surely you know this song." She motioned to him.

"Of course I do." He yelled back over the music.

"She's got eyes of the bluest skies, as if they thought of rain. I'd hate to look into those eyes and see an ounce of pain. Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place where as a child I'd hide and pray for the thunder and the rain to quietly pass me by." Dean sang along with Axl Rose and kept his focus intent on Jessica, the attention making her nervous and she turned back to James and Matilda.

She finished singing and dancing with the kids and excused herself from the room, making her way to her bedroom. She ran into Sam again who was just exiting the guest room. "Hey, feeling better?" she asked him, smiling at the sight of him sans disorientation.

"Yeah, thanks. I don't usually drink that much…" he responded, slightly embarrassed.

"Everyone's entitled to one night I guess. I wanted to ask you something though…" she paused. "This morning, you told me you couldn't save him; that no one could. What on earth were you talking about?" she asked. "You seemed pretty upset."

Sam's face froze in shock. Why would he slip up and say something so stupid? "I – uh, must've been the tequila." He answered with the only excuse he could come up with at the time.

"Uh huh. You're a terrible liar, Sam." She rolled her eyes. "Lucky for you, I don't have time to worry about it. But you better believe you're gonna tell me what you were talking about." She passed him by and entered her bedroom.

* * *

"Damnit, Dean. We need to get out of here." Sam whispered, grabbing his brother aside from the two children he noticed were in the room.

"What? Sam, I'm done having this conversation. You want to leave, fine. Go. I'm staying my week."

"Dean, do you want her to find out what you're running from? She's a _psychiatrist_ for God's sake! She's going to keep prying and unless you want her to find out, we need to leave. Now." Sam responded sternly.

"Call Bobby." Dean sighed. "Maybe he's found something we can use." He gave in. "You said something, didn't you? If she's prying, it's because of you." Dean accused.

"Dude, I was hung over." Sam defended himself.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

"You said something. What did you say?" Dean asked getting a bit louder.

"I told her I couldn't save you… that no one could."

"Jesus, Sam. What the hell is wrong with you?" Dean snapped. Both kids turned to look at him and he got quiet again. "Do you realize what she's been through? We don't need to worry her with our bullshit problems. We have to deal with this because it's _our_ job. _Our_ responsibility. She's a civilian, Sam. A regular person that shouldn't have to know the things we know." Sam stared in bewilderment at his brother.

"Why are you getting so worked up over this?" Sam asked. "You've known her like, a day, Dean. Let's just leave and she can get back to her apple pie life. But you're right… she _shouldn't _have to deal with this, which is all the more reason we should go. You realize horrible things follow us everywhere right?" he argued.

Dean sighed. His brother was right. There was no logical explanation for why he had gotten so attached to this random woman so quickly. It was _one _kiss; _one_ stupid dream. And if he really did want to save her from even a single ounce of misery, staying away from her was the best he could do. Awful things happened to the people the Winchesters cared for the most, and Dean knew it. He was beginning to agree with Sam… now was not the time to try out normal.

"Yeah, ok. We go see Bobby and get back on the Lilith trail." He said definitively. Sam nodded in agreement and they both went to get their stuff.

* * *

"Leaving so soon?" Jessica asked as she passed by the guest room again. She noticed Sam throwing his things back into his duffel and a wave of confusion washed over her.

"Oh, yeah. We've got some work to do, so we're hitting the trail again." He forced a smile so she wouldn't think there was a problem, but he failed. She knew. "But thanks so much for letting us stay."

"Sam, what's going on?" she asked worried. "You can tell me. I won't think you're crazy… I think I've proved that already."

"It's not for me to say." He answered truthfully.

"Son of a bitch, Sam. Quit telling me that. Just tell me what the hell is going on with you." She ordered.

"I can't. I'm sorry." He answered picking up his duffel and walked past her.

"At least tell me where you're going." She called after him. He didn't turn around and she followed him to the living room to find Dean holding a similar duffel. "Look, it may be none of my business, but at least tell me you're gonna be alright." She pleaded. "Please."

Dean was struck by the compassion he saw on her face. "We're going to see Bobby." He told her.

"The man that saved me?" she got quiet.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Yeah." Dean answered. "We really should get going."

"No, wait." She looked at James and Matilda who were playing in the corner and then back to Dean. "Take me with you. Please." She said softly.

"Hell no!" Sam shouted.

Dean snapped his focus to his brother silently telling him to shut up. Both kids had stopped playing and watched the three adults in fear. "It's ok guys, we're just talking." Jessica comforted. "Just keep on, everything's fine." She smiled and both children hesitantly turned back around. "Why not?" she asked harshly as she turned back to Sam.

"You don't understand what we're dealing with." He started. "This isn't a social visit. It's dangerous."

"You don't think I know that? You both got a lot of secrets you're keeping and I get it… this case is different, whatever. I just want to thank the man that saved my life, in person. Is that too much to ask?"

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked.

"Bobby ganked a ghost in Savannah that did some… things to Jess, her brother, and sister when they were kids." Dean answered glancing at his brother. "And I think we should let her come with us."

Sam looked back and forth between his brother and Jessica before sighing. "Fine. When do we leave?"

"First thing in the morning. I promised Jess dinner tonight." Dean answered, smirking at Jessica. She just rolled her eyes and grabbed the phone to call her brother.

* * *

"What the hell was that?" Dean snapped at Sam when she was gone.

"What?" Sam scoffed.

"Since when are you such a hard ass, huh?" he asked, smacking Sam on the shoulder. "What happened to 'caring and sharing' Sam? You didn't even take the time to hear her out, man." He lectured.

"Someone has to be you." Sam answered matter-of-factly. "I don't know what happened to you Dean, but you've gone soft with her. She tells you one sob story and you're ready to jump through hoops for her. Did you forget what this case is? This is about _your_ life… not hers. You wanna involve her? Fine. She's gonna get hurt, one way or the other." Sam warned before dropping his duffel and walking away.

"Hey, where are you going?" Dean asked.

"Out. I need some fresh air." Sam answered and then walked out the front door.

"I told Kendall I was leaving. How long are we staying?" Jessica asked as she entered the living room again.

"I'm not sure. What are you going to do about work?" Dean asked, remembering that she was a normal person with a normal job.

"I don't have any court cases coming up anytime soon, and I can do a lot of my consulting work over the phone or by email." She answered. "Are you going to tell me what this case is? Sam said it was your deal. What did he mean by that?"

"It's just another demon hunt. Some big bad bitch thinking she's something… no big deal." Dean lied.

"You're as bad a liar as your brother. It's ok… I'll find out eventually." She nodded. "Oh, and Dean? You need to keep him in check. He talks to me like that again and I'm gonna start throwing punches." She finished, dead serious.

"Please do." Dean snorted. The image of this tiny blonde going apocalyptic on his brother was nothing short of awesome.

* * *

Bridget picked up the kids at 5 as promised, and Dean sent Sam out to get food for the three of them. He figured their conversations would be better suited in the privacy of her home than in a public restaurant, especially if Sam pissed her off again. She had opened a bottle of wine and poured herself a glass and sat down in front of Dean at the table.

"So this is where we get to know each other?" she asked, taking a sip of her wine.

"Sweetheart, we're about to go on a pretty intense road trip. You're going to get to know me better than you ever thought you could." Dean answered sarcastically.

"Oh goodie." She rolled her eyes. "So, what do you want to know?" she asked flatly, as if uninterested in the questions to come.

"Are you analyzing me?" Dean asked.

"Oh yeah." She smiled back. "I can't turn that off."

"So why Phillipstown, Indiana? Long ways from Savannah isn't it?"

"That's really Kendall's story, not mine." She started. "Bridget is from Phillipstown. She's a graphic designer. So when she came down to Savannah for school, she and Kendall met and now they live the suburban life up here to be near her family."

"What about your parents?" Dean asked.

"When they retired, they moved to Texas. So after Beth, it was either be alone, move to Texas, or here. I chose here." She continued to sip her wine. "Did you want some?" she motioned to the bottle.

"No. Wine isn't my drink, sorry." He leaned back and stared at her.

"Keep that up and you're gonna succeed in creeping me out." She smiled.

"I like listening to you talk." He mentioned. "Your accent, it's cute." She rolled her eyes at the statement.

"Oh, please. I'm from the south, which is obvious, but I can't for the life of me figure out why everyone feels the need to point it out."

"Because it's cute." He flashed his smile at her again.

"Alright, fine. What else you wanna know?" she slightly slurred and raised her glass a bit towards him before taking another sip.

"_Lightweight."_ He thought to himself and smiled. He thought for a second and before he could talk himself out of it, the words spilled out of his mouth. "Would you have traded places with your sister?" he watched her face as her eyes got serious.

"In a heartbeat." She answered without hesitating. "I think about it all the time. It shouldn't have been her." She sat her glass down and stared at the light-colored liquid.

"You couldn't have stopped it." Dean assured her. He paused a moment before asking his next question. "Do you really want to know what case we're working?"

"Don't ask questions you already know the answers to." She quipped. "You and your brother got a lot of secrets."

"It comes with the job." Dean sat back in his chair. "If you really want to know, I'll tell you." She nodded and he continued. "I'm the case."

"I don't follow." She shook her head.

"About ten months ago, Sam was killed." Her eyes grew wider as she leaned closer to him. "The demon that killed our mom had him in some sick game with other people… a fight to the death type deal. This kid stabbed Sammy in the back. It severed his spinal cord. I watched my kid brother die in my arms."

"I'm sorry… about your mom." Jessica said softly. "It explains a lot… why you're in the job, I mean." A tear welled up in Dean's eye and she noticed it. "How'd you get him back?"

"I made a deal."

"With who?"

"It's not really a who, so much as a what. I made a deal with a crossroads demon."

"Are you serious?" his lack of response led her to go on. "A demon, Dean? What did you have to give up?" she was getting angry.

"Me. My life for Sam's."

"Why would you do that?" she asked in disbelief.

"I couldn't live without him. After everything I've done… after all I've given up… I deserve to be selfish. I deserve to have a say." He answered calmly.

"You made a deal with a demon. That's not selfish, Dean, that's _stupid_." She quipped back.

"I figured if anyone could understand, it'd be you. You just said you would've given your life for your sister." He argued.

Jessica locked eyes with Dean for a moment and settled back in her chair. "You're right." She nodded. "So, two months huh? That's not some cheesy line to get me in bed, is it?"

"No." Dean chuckled. "Sure sounds like me, but not this time." He smiled.

A moment of silence fell over them as Jessica processed everything he had just told her. "Can I ask you something else?" she asked sheepishly.

"No. You can't get her back." He answered, knowing the question. "First, you have nothing they want." He lied, knowing they would deal with anyone. "And second, I won't let you do it… neither would Sam." He searched her face and found defeat. "I'm sorry for your loss." He added.

Jessica nodded and closed her eyes as she felt the tears slide down her cheeks. She felt embarrassed knowing that Dean was watching her cry, but she couldn't hold it back. It was when she felt his hands cup her cheeks and his thumbs gently wipe the tears away that she opened her eyes, meeting his once more. "I want to help you." She whispered.

"What?" he asked, still holding her face in his hands.

"Let me help you." She repeated. "You helped me. I can't just let you die, Dean."

Dean moved his hands, realizing what she was saying. "No." he shook his head. "No way."

"Why not?"

"It's too dangerous. _That_ part Sam wasn't wrong about. I can't have letting you get killed on me too." He reasoned, standing up and pacing into the kitchen.

"Bullshit." She called out. "You don't know me, Dean. Sure, you heard my childhood sob story, but in the long run, something happens to me and you're maybe upset for a day or two. So don't pull the safety card on me because I'm not buying it." She replied coldly. "No. Either you don't trust me, or you don't want to be saved."

Dean couldn't believe it. She was right. Sure he liked her, and sure he would feel horrible if something were to happen to her, but she certainly wasn't someone he'd make the deal for. Not like Sam. She had him cornered and he knew it. "Fine." He sighed. "We could use the help. We're having a hard time tracking her down."

"We need Bridget." Jessica half-smiled and downed the last of her wine.


	6. Nothing is Simple

Six. Nothing is Simple

Dean slowly pulled the Impala into the familiar yard in front of Bobby's house. He glanced at his shoulder and smiled at the sight. Jessica had started falling asleep a few hours earlier and complained of having no pillow. Dean offered his shoulder and she had reluctantly accepted. She looked so peaceful in this state; much more at ease than all the other times he had been in her presence. He knew she was still grieving her sister, she hid it well, but Dean knew the look. He brushed a strand of hair out of her face and she started to stir.

"Hey, we're here." Dean said softly.

Jessica slowly sat up to look at the house in front of her. It was still dark out and she waited for her eyes to adjust to the lack of light. "This is it?" she asked. "Can we go inside?" she asked turning to Dean.

"Of course we can." He chuckled at her child-like questions. This was big for her… meeting the man that saved her life so long ago. He was beginning to see the excitement dance across her face.

"Do I look ok? My hair, it's a mess!" she asked, flustered. She ran her hands through her hair a few more times.

"You look great." Dean answered. "Besides, Bobby's not someone you need to worry about impressing." He opened his door to get out and grabbed his duffel from the back. That was when he noticed Sam still sleeping in the backseat. How could he have possibly forgotten his brother was even there? "Sam, wake up. We're at Bobby's." He announced in a much louder voice. "You gonna just stare at the place or get out?" He asked turning his attention back to Jessica.

Jessica opened her door and stepped out to follow Dean. Sam wasn't far behind. Dean got a few pounds in on the door before it swung open to reveal a middle-aged man sporting a trucker hat and a scraggly beard. "Bobby!" Dean greeted his friend, giving him a hug.

"Hey boys!" Bobby answered and moved to hug Sam. "Glad you're back." He said, patting Sam's back.

"Good to be back." Sam replied. "I finally talked Dean out of his 'break'."

"I see that… and who is this?" Bobby asked focusing on Jessica. Her eyes lit up in anticipation and Bobby continued his thought. "This your fed?" He asked.

"Yeah Bobby. This is Dr. Jessica Taylor. You've actually met before." Dean made the introduction.

"Have we?" Bobby asked confused.

"You may not remember me. It was nearly 18 years ago. Savannah, Georgia… a ghost had my brother and sister and I down in the basement. You saved our lives." She smiled.

"That son of a bitch doctor?" Bobby asked. "That was you? Boy, you make a man feel old." He smiled. "I hope you've kept out of trouble since then? How are your brother and sister doing?" Bobby immediately regretted the words as he watched Dean wave his arms behind Jessica. "I'm sorry… that may be too personal."

"No, it's ok." Jessica forced a small smile. "My brother is good. He and his wife live in Indiana. My sister was killed several months ago." She trailed off quietly.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Bobby offered.

"Jess here is going to help out with some research." Dean cut in. "I told her about the deal."

"Well, I don't know how much of a help I can be, but my sister-in-law is real good at this sort of thing."

"You mentioned that earlier. What do you mean by that?" Sam asked.

"Bridget's dad was like you guys. A hunter, I guess is what you call it. That's why _she_ never thought we were crazy." She explained. "She grew up with it, and Kendall said she used to help her dad track things."

"That wouldn't be Mark McLain's girl, would it?" Bobby asked.

"McLain is her maiden name. I've never met her dad." Jessica nodded.

"That's because he's dead." Bobby answered as if unaffected by the whole notion of death.

"Wow. I had no idea." Jessica stated flatly. "Now I know why she never brought it up."

"Do you think she would help?" Bobby asked.

"Only one way to find out." Jessica answered and pulled out her phone.

* * *

"Brigee, you're awesome!" Jessica sang out through the room before greeting Bridget with a hug.

"You're sure you don't mind this? What about Kendall and the kids?" Sam asked.

"School is out, so Kendall isn't coaching. He's staying home with them this week. I do have to go back in a week though, Jess." She answered, focusing her attention on Jessica.

"Understood."

"Now, you said you're hunting a demon named Lilith?" Bridget asked. "I don't have as many of the connections I used to, so I'm not sure what I can do for you that you can't do for yourself."

"The more hands we have on deck, the better." Bobby said.

"My life hangs in the balance. Literally." Dean muttered.

"Alright, let's get started." Bridget said clapping her hands together.

* * *

The week flew by and mixed emotions were held by all. For one, they had found Lilith's location: Greenville, South Carolina. On the other hand, there was still no formulated plan to kill her and Dean was down to his last month. The week spent together brought Dean and Jessica closer to each other; Dean finally found someone to talk to that wasn't Sam, and Jessica found a new best friend. She was worried for him but under no circumstances let it show.

Dean and Jessica went for a walk through Bobby's junk yard to take a break from all the demon talk and enjoy each other's company. She and Bridget were leaving that afternoon, and neither of them knew for sure if they would see each other again.

"So what are you going to do when you get back?" Dean asked.

"Dean… I don't want to do this." She turned to him and sighed.

"Do what?"

"This… avoiding the issue. What if this is it?" It was the first time she let her feelings known and it scared Dean.

"What are you talking about?" He had to figure out some way to reroute the conversation. He didn't know if he could take hurting someone else. "Wait a minute… you care about me." He smirked, deflecting.

"What? No." She gasped. She knew what he was doing and for once decided not to over-analyze and allow it to continue. "I guess I've just gotten used to you, that's all." She sighed, hanging her head down.

Dean noted her sincerity and lifted her face until her eyes met his. "Hey, I'm not going anywhere. Sam and I are gonna take care of this. I'm not dying anymore. Everything's gonna be" –

Jessica grabbed both sides of Dean's open jacket and pulled him down to her lips. Her mouth parted with his allowing him to take the lead in the second kiss she had initiated. _"How am I not the one making all the moves?"_ he thought to himself. A moment passed before she pulled back out of the kiss and turned to walk back to the house. Dean grabbed her by the hand and pulled her back into him enveloping her in another kiss. Her arms wrapped around his neck as his found his way to her waist and pulled her even closer. Just as they both started heating up, the sound of Jessica's phone resounded in the air.

"Damnit." She muttered as she pulled away from him. "Couldn't have worse timing." She fumbled with the phone and furrowed her brow when she didn't recognize the number. "Hello?"

"_Dr. Taylor?"_ a male voice sounded on the other end.

"Yes? Who is this?"

"_My name is Aaron Hotchner. I'm with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit."_

"Right… Agent Hotchner, I don't know what file of mine you have, but you _are_ aware that I'm no longer with the bureau right?" she asked.

"_Yes, yes. I understand… and if this wasn't necessary, well, we wouldn't be speaking."_

"Necessary?"

"_We need your help. My team and I have been on a case for a little over a week in Savannah and I understand you're familiar with the area?"_

"Well, yes sir, but there are plenty of other agents that can give you tours. What do you need me for?"

"_Well, that's the thing. Our unsub asked for you… specifically."_

Jessica's eyes met Dean's and he saw the worry wash across her face. "What's going on?" He asked. She said nothing, just continued to listen.

"_We received a letter yesterday. He's taken a girl from your childhood home. He's asked for you as an exchange. This guy is targeting you."_

"I don't understand. What would he want with me?" Dean heard the panic in her voice and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"_That's what we're trying to find out. Will you help us?"_

"I'm on the next flight." She answered and ended the call.

"What's going on?" Dean asked, concerned.

"Some psycho kidnapped a girl and made a special request for me as her ransom. The feds want me in Savannah. Today." She answered with a glazed look in her eyes.

"What? No way." Dean protested.

"This isn't your game, Dean. It's mine. I get to decide if I take this or not, and I've made my decision." She argued.

"You're not going alone."

"Watch me." She dared. "Call me when this is over. It's going to be torture to work with the thought of you dead looming over my head." She added sincerely. Dean nodded in response and Jessica went back inside to grab Bridget before heading to the airport.


	7. Where You Want To Be

Seven. Where You Want To Be

"Whoa, nice hair, Reid." Agent Derek Morgan announced as he entered the room.

"Wow! Hot date tonight or something?" Agent Emily Prentiss chimed in.

SSA Spencer Reid was beginning to feel a bit self-conscious about his decision to cut his signature long locks, but under no circumstances was he going to tell his coworkers his reasoning. "Just time for a change." He answered, taking a sip of his coffee. "Hotch here yet?"

"Just walked in." Morgan answered.

"Great." Reid put his coffee down next to the file he was reading and entered the Savannah Police Department conference room where Agent Aaron Hotchner was set up. After closing the door, he swallowed nervously and silently prayed this would work. "Hotch?"

"Yes, Reid?" Hotchner replied without looking up.

"I'd like to be the one to pick Dr. Taylor up from the airport, if that's alright." He blurted out.

"There are plenty of policemen here that can take care of that. Why do you want the task?"

"Well, we've pretty much completed the geological profile, and everything else we need depends on what she has to say… so I figure I'm not needed at high priority for now."

"Reid, it doesn't take a profiler to know that's not it. What's on your mind?" The older agent asked, concerned.

"Nothing. It's just, she's kind of an old friend of mine from the academy." He admitted.

"You never mentioned that."

"I didn't think it was important. The UnSub is targeting her for a specific event in her life that altered his. I'm certainly not the event." Reid justified.

"Her plane lands in an hour, gate 15. I told her to look for a member of SPD, but I assume you'll recognize her?" Hotchner consented.

"Yes sir, thank you." Spencer left the room and returned to his earlier spot to retrieve his messenger bag and keys.

"And where are you going?" Prentiss asked.

"Airport." Reid answered before exiting the building. He climbed into the black SUV and drove away.

* * *

"_Ladies and gentlemen, we have now landed at Savannah Hilton Head International. You may now unfasten your seat belts and gather your belongings. Please be sure to take everything, as reentry is prohibited. We hope you enjoyed your flight, and as always, thank you for flying United Express."_

Jessica sighed with relief at the thought of standing up. The flight wasn't too long, she was just anxious about joining another case. She pulled her duffel out from under her seat and began the process of exiting the plane. She said a polite thank you to the stewardess as she left and headed out of the busy gate. _ "Great. No uniforms… guess I get to wait a while."_ She thought to herself. She messaged Dean to let him know that she was in Savannah before calling Bridget.

The minute Reid spotted her, a wide grin made its way across his face. It had been over five years, but he still remembered everything like it was yesterday… of course, seeing as he had an eidetic memory, it was to be expected. He watched her sit down on one of the benches and put away her phone. He adjusted his bag on his shoulder out of habit and made his way across the waiting area.

"Dr. Taylor?" he asked, clearing his throat.

"That's me." She answered, leaning over to pick up her bag. "I didn't see any officers, so I was beginning to" – Her eyes met his face and Reid smiled again. "Dr. Reid?" she asked, shocked. "What's it been… five years?" They shared a quick embrace, awkward on Reid's part, and pulled apart again.

"Five years, two months, and 16 days actually." He corrected her.

"That brain of yours… still mesmerizing." She laughed. "What brings you to Savannah? Coming or going?"

"Well, actually, I'm your escort." He beamed. "Here, let me take that." He motioned to her bag. "Do you have anything checked?"

"No, no. This is it. I was actually away on business when Agent Hotchner called, so I just brought what I had. So, Dr. Reid working for the BAU now? I can definitely see it. I bet you solve all the cases, huh?" She teased.

"Please, my friends call me Spencer… well, actually, they call me Reid… but Spencer is fine." He babbled.

"Ok… _Spencer_." She smiled. "Where are we headed?"

"I thought we could drop your things at the hotel. We've got you a room booked. Then Hotch wants us at the crime scene. He thinks you'll be able to give us some insight into all of this."

"So my house is a crime scene now… I didn't really plan on going back there." She stated flatly.

"I heard about your sister." Reid offered. Even someone as socially inept as he understood her reservations to returning to Savannah… especially that house. "I'm sorry you're getting caught up in all of this."

"Thanks. But I'm ok." She smiled up at him. "I guess we should get going."

Spencer and Jessica spent the ride to the hotel catching up for lost time. They reminisced over the first time they met; the first day of the academy she had gone out of her way to talk to him. When Reid asked her why she spoke to him, she admitted that anyone reading Hemingway in a place like that was certainly on her interesting radar.

"Hey, it's the girl from the picture." Prentiss pointed out to Morgan when Jessica exited the vehicle.

"It is…" Morgan agreed, slightly confused. "You made her drive?" he asked Reid.

"GPS wouldn't work. She knows her way around." Reid defended.

"Dr. Taylor, I'm Aaron Hotchner, we spoke on the phone." Hotchner extended his hand once they got to the front room and she took it. "This is Derek Morgan and Emily Prentiss. The rest of my team is back at the station."

"Jessica Taylor, pleasure to meet you all." She smiled. "But I'm sorry it's under these circumstances. I'm afraid I don't know what your mystery man wants with me."

"That's ok. We're here to guide you through that. We know you still own the house. Did you have any sort of relationship with the tenant?" Morgan asked.

"Becca Shanks? No, not really. She's a college student I believe; I just rent to her."

"Is there any reason why someone would think that taking her would be of importance to you?"

"No. I mean, except for the fact that it's my house." She replied. "Can I read the letter he sent? Maybe that can tell me something."

"It's back at the station, but I can recite it." Reid answered. "It says '_How could she let him go? She took her from me. Tell Jess the body count is about to go up to two. My proposal is simple: Taylor for Shanks.'_"

"How could I let _who _go? Two? He's killed already?" Jessica asked.

"Not that we're aware of. We were hoping you might be able to understand this." Hotchner replied.

"We think he may be suggesting that you failed to save someone he was close to… in his mind, you killed them." Prentiss spoke.

"Well, we've all had our share of cases that could have turned out better. How are we supposed to dig through them all?" Jessica asked. Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she pulled it out. "Excuse me." She opened the phone and it was a message from Dean: _"We're still headed to Greenville. I'll catch up with you when there's something to report. Be safe."_ She closed the phone and put it back into her pocket.

"We're going to need to go through your life with a fine-toothed comb." Prentiss responded. "It may get uncomfortable, but somewhere along the lines this guy made a connection with you that went downhill." Jessica nodded in agreement and Prentiss continued. "Can you tell us about your family?"

"Sure. My dad was a cop for SPD and my mom taught sociology at the university. They both retired a couple of years ago and moved to San Antonio. I have two biological brothers: Kendall and Jake. Kendall coaches in Indiana and Jake works on the oil rigs up in Alaska. My adopted sister Beth and I lived in this house until she was murdered back in April and I just moved out a few weeks ago. That's when I started renting to Becca… but I don't know how any of that could be connected to this."

"What about the house? Do you think you could take us through it? The UnSub destroyed Becca's room. We think the room itself holds some significance to him." Reid asked.

"Of course."

"He refers to you as 'Jess' suggesting that he either has a personal relationship with you or thinks he does. This guy doesn't want to hurt Becca, but I wouldn't underestimate his ability to do so." Morgan chimed in.

"There's a lot of people that call me Jess, so no narrowing it down there." Jessica led them upstairs and let Hotchner take the lead to Becca's room. "This was my old room." She said softly, looking at the destruction in front of her. There were papers from Becca's desk all over the room, scratches in the walls, the bed and dresser had been overturned, and the shutters ripped off the windows. "Damn. I really pissed this guy off." As she turned back around, the sun's reflection from something on Becca's desk shined in her eyes and she moved closer towards it. A broken silver bracelet with the initials B.E.S. lay on the desk. "Oh my god…"

"What?" Hotchner asked.

"This bracelet." She motioned. "It's Beth's. Her mother gave her this for her ninth birthday. She never went anywhere without it. I always thought it was odd that she didn't have it when she was killed."

"So Beth is the one you couldn't save." Prentiss thought out loud.

"Excuse me?" Jessica scoffed.

"I just meant that our UnSub holds you responsible." Prentiss corrected herself.

"We're going to need to know everything about your sister." Hotchner redirected. "The details surrounding her death are going to be important here. You worked the case, correct?"

"Well, yes." Jessica started. "You can't really ask me to relive that all over again."

"I'm sorry, I know this is difficult. It also may save Becca's life." Prentiss sympathized.

"Wesley Crandall was arrested for the murder, but was released." Reid started.

"That was my fault. I screwed up." Jessica admitted. "I got too involved in the case. I may have hit him… a few times."

Morgan saw the look of shame on her face and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, in your case, there's no such thing as too involved. I probably would've taken a swing at him too." He gave her a small smile and she returned it.

"So that's what he was referring to at the beginning of the letter." Reid pondered. "Jessica, you said Beth never took the bracelet off?" Jessica nodded in response and he carried on. "Think back, are you certain she never gave it to anyone?"

"Did she have a boyfriend?" Hotchner added.

"No. She was meeting Crandall for dinner the night he murdered her." She half-lied. There was no way she was telling three federal agents about Dean or the shape-shifter. Suddenly, memories of that night flooded her brain. "I helped her get ready right down that hallway. I waited downstairs for her to come home for hours. I was in this room when I got the phone call. I ran down those stairs and out that door and…" Reid watched her expressions fade and his heart dropped. "I'm sorry, I can't be in this house anymore. Can we go back outside or something?" she shook her head, in hopes the memories would go away.

"Of course, I think we have all we need here for now." Hotchner complied.

"Are you ok?" Reid asked Jessica in the SUV.

"No." Jessica looked down at her hands. "I'm not. She didn't give the bracelet to anyone. I think it was taken."

"You think someone stole it?" Prentiss asked.

"I never really thought about it, but someone was following her. We tried looking for the creep when she was killed, but we got nothing. Turns out it wasn't even him." She looked up at Reid. "I think I know who he is now."

"Who?"

"Jake, my oldest brother, one of his college roommates was always real interested in Beth. I was always the quiet one… too into school and my career goals. Boys never phased me, but Beth was just the opposite. She started dating him when we were seventeen. Beth was all about fun, you know? She wasn't the type to seriously date anyone. She broke up with him after a few months, but he never seemed to accept it. I think he may have kept tabs on her… she noticed things going missing all the time, but she was always so unorganized that I never thought anything of it." She explained.

"What's his name?"

"Everyone called him Nate… I don't remember his last name. I haven't thought about him in years."

"I'll get Garcia on it." Morgan announced. "Baby girl? I need your help. We're looking for an old boyfriend of Bethany Saunders. His name is Nate, probably short for Nathan, but we have no last name." he put the phone on speaker.

"_So basically you're giving me nothing? I'm good hot stuff, but I need more than that." _Garcia responded.

"He would be between the ages of 30 and 35. He pledged Gamma Chi at Savannah State University." Jessica added.

"_Got it. Now _that_ I can work with."_

"We just need a name and address, sweetness." Morgan chimed.

"_Ok, I've got a Nathan Burgess at 1210 South Park Ave. in Savannah. He was dismissed from the University after an arrest for lewd conduct."_

"Thank you, Garcia." Morgan responded. "We'll be in touch." He closed the phone and looked back at Jessica. "You know where this is?"

"Hang a right at the next light." She answered.

* * *

"The car is still in the driveway." Hotchner pointed out as they pulled up to the curb.

"Let me go in." Jessica said.

"No. We need to wait for the rest of my team and secure the perimeter." Hotchner argued.

"He wants me to go in there. He knows we would find him, and he's going to kill her unless you let me go inside. I can handle myself. I used to be one of you guys, remember?"

"I don't like it." Hotchner shook his head.

"Look, I don't take orders from the bureau anymore. I certainly don't take orders from you. Either give me a gun or I'm going in unarmed." She quipped.

"It may be our only shot, Hotch." Morgan added. "He wants her in there… I say we indulge him."

Hotchner pondered the ramifications for a moment before handing Jessica a gun. "Take an earpiece. I want to know everything that goes on in there. I get the slightest inclination that anyone is in danger, and we're busting in. Got it?"

"Got it." Jessica answered while putting in the earpiece. She tucked the gun in the back of her waistband, letting her shirt fall to conceal the weapon. She walked up the driveway and to the front door. When she pulled back her hand to knock, she noticed it was partially open. "The door is open. He knows we're here." She said softly. She pulled out the gun and pointed it in front of her.

"Be careful." Hotchner replied into her earpiece.

Jessica searched the small house room by room until she came to the back bedroom. She leaned up against the door to listen for voices. _"Please, just let me go? I won't tell anyone, I swear!" _She heard Becca plead.

"_Not until she shows up."_ Nate spat back.

"I can hear them." She whispered. "I'm going in."

"Morgan, I want you in there as backup. Don't let him see you, or he may kill Becca." Hotchner ordered.

"Got it, Hotch." Morgan answered. He quietly ran in the house and down the back hallway, giving Jessica the ok nod.

Jessica pushed open the bedroom door and immediately aimed her gun at Nate. She took a moment to assess the situation. Becca was on the floor in front of the closet and Nate was unarmed. "Really? No weapon?" she scoffed.

"Don't need one." Nate responded.

"Come on, let her go and we can all leave here peacefully." Suddenly the door slammed shut behind her and she felt something hard connect with her skull.

"Ok." Nate laughed, and Jessica slipped out of consciousness.


	8. Nothing Really Matters

Eight. Nothing Really Matters

"Jessica!" Morgan yelled at the bedroom door as he attempted to kick it open. "Open up! FBI!" he continued to shout.

"_Morgan, what's going on?"_ Hotch asked from outside.

"I don't know. She went in the room and the door slammed behind her. I heard something hit the ground. Hard. I think she may be out." He panted as he continued to ram into the door.

"_We're going in."_ Hotch replied. He nodded to Prentiss who withdrew her weapon and followed Hotchner to the house.

"Oh god, please help me!" a female voice drifted from the side of the house.

"I see Becca." Reid announced. "I've got her." He ran to the girl and pulled her back to the vehicle. "What happened?" he asked.

"He-he-he let me out the window." She stuttered.

"What happened to Jessica?" he asked rather panicked.

"He knocked her out." She cried.

"Nathan?"

"No. The other one." She answered.

"I never thought I'd see the day when Derek Morgan couldn't bust a door open." Prentiss muttered.

"You think this is funny?" Morgan yelled back. "It's like it's sealed or something, Hotch. It won't budge."

"It's ok. They're trapped. He's not going anywhere. Reid has Becca." Hotchner replied. "We need to make him believe he's won. He won't open up until he knows he's accomplished his goal."

"Nathan Burgess, my name is Agent Emily Prentiss. I'd like to come in if that's alright. We know you have Dr. Taylor in there." Prentiss voiced against the door. After a long pause of silence, Prentiss grabbed the knob.

"Good luck with that." Morgan scoffed.

Prentiss twisted the knob and the door fell open. "You loosened it up for me, right?" she teased before raising her weapon again and entering the room. There was a tiny pool of blood on the carpet in front of the door and drips leading to the closet. Morgan took the lead and checked the closet and Prentiss turned to face the window. That's when she saw the body. "Um, guys? I think I know where Nathan Burgess is." She pointed to Nate's slumped over body that had been leaned up against the bed. His throat had been cut.

"Becca said there were two of them." Reid announced, appearing at the door.

"Where is she?" Prentiss asked.

"Gideon and JJ just got here. They're taking her back to the station."

"So the second guy takes out Taylor then kills Nate before dragging her body here. The blood stops at the base of the closet." Morgan said. He looked a little closer and noticed a paneling along one end of the wall. He pulled at it and it popped off, revealing a small tunnel. "How the hell did he get her through here?" he asked. "If he had to drag her, this would've taken hours… we've maybe been apart ten minutes."

"He's fast. This changes everything… we need to start the new profile." Hotchner declared.

* * *

Jessica's eyes fluttered open and she felt the blood rush to her head before it pounded mercilessly at her skull. When she looked up, she noticed her hands bound above her head and her toes barely skimmed the floor. "Hello?" she called.

"Sleep well?" the man appeared before her, eyes black.

"Who are you? What do you want?" She quivered. His eyes scared her; she had never seen anything like it, but she remembered them from Dean's descriptions: demon.

"Names aren't important. Well, maybe one… Winchester, perhaps?" the demon answered smoothly. "You understand that fraternizing with a Winchester will only end up getting you killed… well, I guess you do now.

"Where's Nate?"

"That moron? I grew bored with him… always whining about his dead girlfriend, blah blah blah. I only needed him to get you here. I've got you, so he's no longer of use to me."

"What do you want?" she asked again.

"What do I want? Really, you must be stupid." He spat.

"Dean." Jessica stated flatly.

* * *

"Where is that noise coming from?" Morgan asked as the four agents continued searching the house. "It sounds muffled, but I think I hear voices."

"Hotch, the earpiece." The light bulb went off in Reid's head.

"We never found it?" Hotchner asked.

"No. She must still have it in."

"…_blah blah. I only needed him to get you here. I've got you, so he's no longer of use to me."_ A male voice sounded over the walkie Hotchner pulled out of his pocket.

"That's our UnSub." Prentiss pointed out. Hotchner held up a finger to silence her and they continued to listen.

"_What do you want?"_

"At least we know she's alive." Morgan muttered.

"_What do I want? Really, you must be stupid."_

"_Dean."_

"Taylor, it's Hotch. Can you hear me?" Hotchner asked into the walkie.

"Why isn't she answering?" Reid asked quietly.

"It's possible that the piece took the hit. Becca did say he hit her in the head. We can hear her, but she may not be able to hear us." Morgan suggested.

"Who is Dean?" Prentiss asked. "Burgess wanted Taylor and now our UnSub is asking for someone named Dean? I'm not following…"

"Jessica got a text message from a guy named Dean when we first got to the scene." Reid spoke up. "I remember the call-back number that was listed." He mumbled as he pulled out his phone.

"_Yeah?"_ A gruff voice answered after the second ring. Reid's brow furrowed at the sound of Metallica in the background.

"Uh, hi. Dean?" Reid started. "My name is Dr. Spencer Reid, I'm with the FBI. I work with Dr. Taylor… you know her?"

"_Yeah, I know the doc. What can I do for you, Spency?"_

"Spencer will do." He corrected.

"_Alright… Spencer." _Dean responded snobbishly.

"We've been working a case in Georgia and there's been some slight complications."

"_Complications? Like what? And why am I getting calls from feds?" _

"Our UnSub, or unknown subject, well… suspect I guess would be a good term…"

"_Spit it out. I'm busy."_ Dean cut in.

"Right. Um, well, he has Dr. Taylor hostage. Your name came up." Spencer stated. "Hello?" He asked after a long moment of silence.

"_I'm on my way."_ And with that, Dean ended the call.

* * *

"You know this is a trap right?" Sam asked.

"Probably… doesn't change the fact that I'm going." Dean answered, keeping his eyes on the road.

"We should be focusing on Lilith." Sam argued.

"Sam, think about it. Who would take her to try to get to me? He isn't human, which means she doesn't stand a chance against him. She helped us, now it's our turn to help her." He looked over at the disgusted look on his brother's face. "We still have a month." He assured. "Now, it's going to take us about four-and-a-half hours to get to Savannah. Are you going to be a whiney bitch the whole way or what?"

"Jerk." Sam muttered under his breath with a smile.

* * *

"_Life is a learning game, Jess."_ The demon circled around Jessica. _"I have personally learned something astounding… do you know what that is?"_

"_Why don't you enlighten me?"_ she rolled her eyes.

"_I learned that when glycolic acid and oxalic acid come together, the results can be quite interesting." _

"_It causes cardiovascular dysfunction and kidney failure."_ Jessica answered.

"She's nervous." Morgan pointed out.

"Wouldn't you be if someone was threatening you with ethylene glycol poisoning?" Reid snapped. "Is there a reason we aren't following the tunnel? It'll tell us where he has her."

"_I also know your biggest fear."_ The UnSub said.

"Can you fit through there? Be my guest." Morgan pointed to the closet.

"_No... No! Please! Don't do this!"_ Reid heard Jessica's cries and his mouth fell open, his eyes locked onto the walkie in horror.

"I'm not going to just sit here. We brought her here!" he shrieked.

"Ethylene glycol… that's in antifreeze." Prentiss spoke up. "It's normally ingested. He's force-feeding her antifreeze?"

"He's injecting her." Reid rambled as he analyzed the small tunnel. Even his brain couldn't figure out how they fit through there and so quickly. "Her biggest fear is needles. This is impossible." He stood up, throwing his hands in the air.

"Reid, I know she's a friend." Morgan started.

"No, I mean this is physically _impossible_. What if the UnSub left this to distract us? What if this isn't how they got out?

"Where else could they have gone? We were right outside the door." Morgan retorted.

"Becca came out through the window. What if they did too?" Reid asked.

"You found Becca. Did you see them go out the window?" Hotchner reasoned.

"Well, no. But there's no way they got through that tunnel." The sound of Reid's cell phone rang out. "Hello?"

"_Did you find her?" _

"What? Who is this?"

"_Dean. You called me earlier. Did you find Jess?"_

"We're working on it. Can you think of anyone that would want to harm you? This man… he took her to get to you."

"_Not a clue. It's going to take a few hours for me to get there."_ And again, Dean hung up.

"He sure doesn't know how to end phone calls well. I'm socially awkward and even I know how to talk on the phone." Reid mumbled under his breath. "Have they said anything else?" he asked while looking at the walkie.

"No. I think the earpiece is dying. Morgan's probably right. It more than likely took the hit." Hotchner replied.

"_- a week. I mean nothing to him. Killing me won't send any kind of message to him."_ They heard Jessica's voice.

"_I think you underestimate yourself."_

"_Please, you don't have to do this. Whatever it is you want from him, I have nothing to do with it."_ She pleaded. _"Please, no!" _

"We're really just going to stand here and listen to this?" Reid challenged. "I'm going around back to check the rest of the area." He added, disgusted. Prentiss and Hotchner shared a look and she took off after him.

"Reid, wait up." She called after him.

"_South Carolina, huh? It'll take him hours to get here. I should at least let him know where to find the body. That would be polite, no?"_ Morgan and Hotchner continued to listen, hoping the UnSub would give up any clues as to where they were hiding. _"How does it feel? Does it hurt yet?"_ he laughed. _"Don't worry… it will. I wish I could stay. Watching the light go out in the eyes is my favorite part… but I am a very busy man. Goodbye, Jess." _

A door closed in the background and Morgan looked up at Hotch. "He left? Just like that?" he asked.

"_H-H-Hotchner?" _Jessica stuttered. _"I'm not sure if this thing works anymore. God, I hope this works." _

"She still can't hear us. Tell us where you are, Doc." Morgan stated.

"_I-I… the basement. Through the cellar."_ She whimpered. The pain was starting to kick in, and being strung up elongated wasn't helping the intense cramps she was beginning to experience in her sides. _"I'm going into acute renal failure. Cardiac arrest won't be too far behi.." _ she trailed off.

"Cellar." Hotchner commanded and he and Morgan took off after Prentiss and Reid.

"Reid, have you found a cellar? She's in a basement through the cellar." Morgan yelled.

"There's nothing here. The house isn't that big… if there was a cellar, I would have seen it." He called back.

"There's a cellar next door." Prentiss yelled from the next yard. The three men drew their guns and walked to the cellar she was standing at. Morgan opened it and went down behind Hotchner, Prentiss and Reid following close behind.

"She's here." Hotchner noted as he holstered his gun. Reid followed suit and ran to Jessica's aid. She was drifting in and out of consciousness, wincing in pain.

"Pressure." She whispered as Reid removed the ropes from her hands. Her feet hit the floor and her knees buckled. Reid locked his arms under hers just before she collapsed to the floor.

"I got her." Morgan offered. He scooped her up to carry her up the stairs.

"Put pressure on her side. If she's in kidney failure, it'll help the pain." Reid pointed out.

"We got you, Jess. Relax." Morgan said softly.

* * *

Jessica opened her eyes and squinted at the brightness of the room. "She's awake." She heard a voice say in the corner.

"Sweetheart, you got lucky. No cardiac arrest." An older woman in scrubs peered down at her. "We're running you through dialysis now. A few more rounds and you're going to be fine." She smiled.

She braced herself on her hands to push herself forward when a familiar voice spoke up. "No no no. Lie back down." His hand gently pushed her shoulder back down and she allowed it to happen.

"Reid?" she asked groggily.

"Yeah. It's me." He answered.

"So I come down here as a favor to you and on my first day I almost get killed." She sighed. "Remind me again why I left the bureau." She mocked.

"I'm sorry." Reid replied solemnly.

"God, my head." She complained.

"You took a pretty decent hit." He whispered back.

"Where is everyone?"

"They went out looking for the UnSub. It's been a few hours, hopefully they've gotten somewhere. I'm going to have to leave soon… I just wanted to be here when you woke up." He tried to smile at her. "I'm glad you're ok… get some rest" He added, standing to leave. He placed one hand on her shoulder again and smiled.

"Thanks."

The next morning Jessica was allowed to leave the hospital. Reid picked her up and drove her back to the hotel the rest of the team was staying at. He helped her up to the room and offered to stay, but she declined. She knew he only wanted to help, but she really just wanted to call Kendall and Bridget and get some sleep. She had just ended the call and settled in bed when she heard a knock at the door. "Geez Reid, I said I'm fine." She groaned as she walked to the door. When she opened the door, her throat fell to the pit of her stomach.


	9. Go It Alone

Nine. Go It Alone.

"Dean?" she asked, shocked. "What are you doing here?"

"You gonna let me in?" he asked. Jessica stepped to the side and looked down the hallway to make sure no one saw him before closing the door again.

"What are you doing here?"

"I told you helping me would only get you hurt." He started.

"What? Dean, I'm fine." She contested.

"Oh really? You call being held hostage by a demon and landing in a hospital fine? Why did I have to get a call from a fed to know something was wrong?" his voice got angrier.

"A call? Who called you?" she asked. Then it hit her. "Dean, what happened with Lilith? Are you out?" she asked, terrified of the answer.

"I can't let this go on." He said, getting quieter.

"Are you out of the deal?" she repeated. "It's a simple question."

"The more I continue to feel for you, the more danger I put you in. It has to stop."

"Dean, why aren't you answering the question?" she was beginning to panic.

"We didn't make it to South Carolina. I couldn't let you get hurt." His eyes burned into her now tearful ones.

"You have to go back. I'll go with you." She pressed herself against him and moved to his lips. He allowed their lips to touch for a moment before he pressed rather firmly on her left side. She gasped, doubled over in pain and backed away.

"I can't use you." He pointed out. "I can't risk another demon coming after you. Jess, they know what we're planning and they know you've become a weakness to me. I have to do this on my own."

"What the hell?" her voice rose. "So what? You drove all the way here to tell me you don't want me in your life? How is it that I don't believe that?"

"It doesn't matter what you believe. It's the truth. Stay out of this." He demanded.

"No." she argued. "I'm already a part of this. You can't tell me how to live my life."

"Yes, I can. Go back home; go back to work. Spend time with James and Matilda. Find someone and settle down... someone that can be there for you for the rest of your life. You have an opportunity to live a normal life… believe me when I tell you that you want to do that. More than anything you want to do that." He stressed.

"You're a coward." Her voice shook. "I haven't lived a normal day in my life and I don't plan to start now. I'm sorry you got close to someone; get over it. But don't you _dare_ tell me what I want."

"Bye, Jess." He whispered and walked past her to the door. "Don't come looking for us." He added and closed the door behind him. Jessica stared at the door for a few minutes before walking out of the room and pounding on Spencer's door.

"Hey, everything ok?" he asked when he opened the door. He was dressed in sweats leading her to believe he was about to go to sleep as well, but she didn't care. She walked in the room and shut the door before letting it all come out.

"Who called Dean?" she asked, trying to stay calm.

"Was he here? We need to talk to him." Reid answered, not making the connection.

"Who called him, Reid?" she asked again, this time her anger becoming apparent.

"I did." He answered. "We heard the name through the earpiece. I remembered the number from your text message."

"I can't even begin to tell you how much is wrong with what you just said."

"Jessica, we had to figure out what he wanted. Dean is who he wanted, and we need to know why." Reid explained.

"You had no right to go through my personal life, Spencer!" she shrieked. "You have no idea what you just did!"

"Will you please explain to me what is going on?" he asked confused; a state he was very uncomfortable in.

"Look, I know you were just doing your job, but you've seriously gotten in way over your head here. You _and _your team. You need to go home." She warned.

"What am I missing?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. I can take care of this, I just need you guys to look the other way."

"You're asking me to ignore a federal investigation?" he asked. "Are you insane?"

"Spencer, please."

"Not without an explanation." They stared at each other for a few uncomfortable moments and Jessica sighed in frustration.

"Fine. Sit down." She pointed to the bed. She moved to the opposite side of him and slowly sat next to him to avoid the pain in her side. "Wesley Crandall… that name mean anything to you?" she asked.

"The man that killed your sister, yes."

"Allegedly." She corrected. "He doesn't exist."

"What?" he laughed. "You have lost your mind." He stared at her in disbelief.

"Really? I have? How high are you right now, Reid?" she scoffed.

"Excuse me?"

"You're smart, Reid. Maybe too smart for your own good. You can't seriously think they don't know… I've been here less than 48 hours and I can tell you have a problem. Your pupils are dilated, your hands are shaking, and you look like you haven't slept in days. What are you on?"

"So he doesn't exist?" Reid changed the subject.

"No… no he doesn't. But Dean does."

"Dean is Crandall?" Reid asked, shocked. "I don't believe it. I told him where you were! What if he shows up?"

"He already did." She put a hand on his arm to calm him down. "He's a good guy, Spencer. He didn't kill Beth, and he's helped me out on more than one occasion." She assured him. "Calling him screwed things up. I know that wasn't your intention, but it happened. So now, I need your help to fix it."

"How?"

"I need the feds off this case. Get yourselves officially uninvited from this jurisdiction. No one crossed state lines so this technically isn't a federal case anyway." She reasoned.

"Why would I do that?"

"Hopefully because you trust me." She answered softly. "Please, Spence. Back off."

"Did you know that only one other person in the entire world calls me Spence?" he tried to smile again.

"I know we haven't been in touch for a while. I'm sorry about that… but you have to know that your friendship always has and always will mean so much to me. I'm asking you to trust me… can you do that?" he stared at her for a minute in response and she began to get nervous. This was a lot to ask, not to mention, illegal.

"I remember all the snide comments they thought I couldn't hear. And I remember all the times you helped me with my firearms qualification. I know I'm difficult to be around, but you always treated me with respect. I do trust you… just tell me what you want me to do." He answered.

"Thank you, Spence." She smiled, sighing in relief. "We'll think of something. Our combined IQ is north of 300." She laughed.

"You know, the same can be said for five morons." Spencer replied with a smile. "You know, I was flipping channels earlier and Friday the 13th was on…"

"No way! You like 80s slasher films?" she asked, shocked.

"Well, no. But I remember that you do." He got nervous knowing that if anyone else on the team were here, they would be mocking him mercilessly. "Would you want to watch it?" he gulped.

"More than anything. It's been a tough day and I really don't want to be alone. Besides, making fun of this movie will be the highlight of my week." She gave him a small smile.

"You want to talk about it?" he offered.

"I'll make you a deal, Spence. I'll tell you my problems when you tell me yours." He gave her a confused look. "Don't think for a second that I forgot." He nodded in agreement and turned the TV on. They both sat back against the headboard of the bed to watch the movie, laughing at all the cheesy parts.

"Dilaudid." He said softly during a commercial. Jessica turned to look at him and turned off the TV.

"What?"

"I'm using dilaudid." He repeated.

"That's a form of heroin… heroin, Reid? Seriously?" she started, but decided to lay off after seeing the shame on his face. "That's not a habit you just pick up. What happened?" her voice softened.

"About a month ago, I was held hostage by an UnSub we had been looking for. He was living as three separate people. The submissive personality began to inject me with dilaudid… he said it would make it feel better." He dropped his eyes to his hands. "It did."

"Why haven't you told anyone? They have to know something's up with you. If I know, they know."

"I know that. I shared… talk to me. You're not ok." He pointed out.

"Don't profile me, Reid."

"Jess, you were taken hostage by a man that used your biggest fear against you. Thinking you want to talk isn't profiling… it's psych 101."

"I'm fine."

"Why'd you quit the bureau? You said that was the only thing you ever wanted to do with your life… so why quit?" he prodded.

"I wouldn't really call that sharing, but if you want to deflect, fine." She seethed. "After Beth…" her eyes started to well up and he placed a hand on her shoulder. She tightened back up and moved her shoulder so his hand fell. "I couldn't protect her."

"It wasn't your fault." He began.

"I saw her everywhere I went. I didn't sleep for days because I was scared I would watch her die all over again. Everyone I saw, I imagined as her killer. I was paranoid and hyper-vigilant and a general mess. I'm the one that got Crandall – Dean – off." She ranted.

"But you said he didn't do it." Reid argued.

"He didn't. But what if he had? What if a murderer was released because of me? I can't have more blood on my hands."

"Beth's death wasn't your fault. You of all people should know that. After all the victims you've interviewed, what's the one thing you make sure they know?" he asked. "It's not their fault. And it's not _your_ fault either."

"I know that." She answered, looking him square in the eye.

"You weren't talking about Beth." He realized. "Jessica, did you kill someone?" he asked, scared of her answer. When she didn't answer, he knew. "You did? What the – have you seriously gone off the deep end?" he kept his voice low, scared they could be heard.

"I found who killed Beth, yes." She answered. "It was self-defense; there were witnesses." She lied, hoping he would buy it.

"How come none of this is in your file?" he asked. "You made sure it wouldn't be." He answered his own question. "How long have you been manipulating the system?"

"That's what you think I'm doing?" she asked. "Trying to cover my tracks? Spencer, I'm a good agent… _was_ a good agent." She corrected. "I may have hidden some things, but I _never_ did it to help myself."

"What's so special about him? About Dean?" Reid asked.

"He helped me when no one else would." She answered.

"I would've helped you." He muttered.

"I know… maybe I did this all wrong, but I'd do it all again." She said defensively.

"You said he was here?" he inquired.

"Yeah. I'm not sure I want to talk about that though." She answered.

"I'm here when you're ready." He offered.

"Make a deal?" she asked, his nod led her to continue. "I'll tell you anything you want to know about Dean if you promise to stop using."

"It's not that simple." He sighed.

"Why not? I'm not saying you stop right now. I'm saying get help, Spence." She explained.

"I'll talk to Hotch. He won't report me, but it may be enough to get us pulled off the case. It's not really something I know how to talk about. I know I need help." He conceded. "So I can ask _anything_?" he asked nervously.

"Yes." She answered, lying down on her back; she winced slightly as she slid her legs down.

"Are you ok?"

"Dialysis is _not_ pain free, Reid. Don't believe the lies." She answered sarcastically.

"Why did you let him go?" he asked.

"What?"

"When you thought he was Crandall. Why did you let him go?" he repeated.

"I didn't." she half-lied. "I got too emotionally involved in the interrogation room and I sort of hit him… a lot."

"I wish I could've seen that." He smirked.

"I think there's a surveillance video… ask your tech. She could probably get it for you." She smiled.

"When did you start trusting him?"

"Something didn't sit right with me when we arrested him. I've seen UnSubs lie before, and they can be convincing… but he was too sincere about his innocence. At least at first… then he just got arrogant." She answered. "And then he said something to me that I couldn't ignore." She turned her head to look Spencer in the eye. "He said he knew who did it. Would you have passed that up?" she asked genuinely.

"No… I guess not." He whispered. "I know how close you were to Beth. I'm so sorry." He added sincerely.

Jessica smiled and placed a hand on his knee. "It's ok. I had my time to deal. Knowing he's dead helps."

"What happened between you? You were upset when you got here. I can deduce that if he was here, he's why you were upset."

"Yeah. He stopped by to tell me it's over." She breathed.

"You were seeing him?" he asked, puzzled.

"I don't know, actually. Sick, huh? We had a… thing, I guess." She began. "I honestly don't know what it was. But it's over now." She looked back up at the ceiling.

"I doubt that." Spencer said, raising a brow. "He drove all the way here from South Carolina… that says he cares about you. I spoke with him on the phone, Jess. He dropped everything he was doing to make sure you were safe. That doesn't add up to 'it's over'."

"That's just it. He dropped _everything_. He has a very important, very dangerous job, Spencer. A job he doesn't want me involved in. I'm scared I'll get a call one day that he's been killed too. I can't lose someone else." her eyes began to swell with tears again and she was angry with herself for letting it show. "He feels responsible for me, and I don't want him to… but at the same time, I feel this strange connection with him, you know?" she asked.

"No. Not really." He responded with a small laugh. "I'm not exactly the relationship type… it's a little out of my range of expertise."

"You'll find her, Spence." She smiled, wiping the tears back. "There's a girl out there that can handle that brain of yours… when you're ready. When you're ready, she'll notice."

"My mom used to tell me that all the time." He said with a small smile. "She used to say that girls can sense when men are changing. When you're ready, certain kinds of girls – the right kinds of girls will find you… but only when you're ready."

"Smart woman. You miss her, don't you?" she asked softly.

"Yeah. I do." He answered. "But I mostly feel guilty." He trailed.

"She's sick. You shouldn't feel guilty for getting her help." She tried to comfort him. "Is that why you use? Do you feel guilty?"

"It helps me remember the good times." He answered. "It also helps me forget." Jessica nodded in response, empathizing with him.

"I'm tired. I'm also comfortable. This is a problem." She stated, changing the subject.

"You're welcome to stay here. I can take your room." He offered, standing up. Jessica caught his arm before he walked any further.

"No… I really don't want to be alone. It kind of freaks me out." she replied, slightly embarrassed.

"Ok. I guess I can take the floor." He smiled.

"No, no. This bed is big enough for the both of us. Please, I don't want to make you uncomfortable." She negotiated. "I'm the intruder here."

"Alright." He responded. He helped her pull the covers back before sliding in on the other side of her. "Goodnight, Jess. Thanks for talking with me." He reached for the bedside lamp and turned it off. When he turned back over, he felt two arms wrap around his neck in a hug and her head rested beneath his chin. He smiled, returning the hug and then lay back down to slowly drift into unconsciousness.


	10. Razorblade

Ten. Razorblade.

"Jess?" Bridget called from downstairs. "Are you ready? We're about to go!"

"Yes sir. Thank you, I understand. I'll be in touch." Jessica spoke into her cell phone before flipping it closed. "Sorry B, I'm ready, I'm ready." She trotted down the stairs and to the car, smiling at James and Matilda in the backseat. "Ready to go to the zoo?" she asked, the kids nodding enthusiastically in response.

"It's about time… how long do you spend on the phone these days?" Kendall asked from the driver's seat.

"You know why I'm doing it." She teased. "If I want my job back, I have to dig deep into my connections; they have to hear my annoying little voice everyday until they get so sick of me that I get to be in the bureau again."

"Why do you want to go back anyway?" Bridget asked. "You'd have to leave again wouldn't you?" she kept her voice low so the kids couldn't hear. "I hoped you would have that one last "adventure" last month and get it out of your system."

"Guess not. I like knowing that I'm helping people." She defended.

"You help people at the police station." Kendall shot back.

"I evaluate inmates, interview victims, and testify in court. After being in the bureau, it's boring at best." Jessica retorted.

"But it's safe." He argued.

"Safe is boring." She muttered.

"So, is Dr. Reid helping you?" Bridget asked.

"How do you know about Reid?"

"He called the house a few days ago to talk to Kendall." She answered.

"What did he want?" Jessica asked her brother.

"I'm sworn to secrecy." He smiled at her through the rearview mirror. "He said he requested to do the background check."

"Oh, good. He has a tech pushing through my paperwork. Apparently she's an evil genius with paperwork. I think it's all going to work out." She began. "Besides, there's a field office a few hours away in Indianapolis. I would only have to be gone a few months before I could request to be back here."

"I know… I was just starting to get used to you being here." Bridget said. "I've never had a sister before." She looked back at Jessica and smiled sadly.

"Come on, let's not talk about it now. Nothing's been decided. Let's just have a fun day at the zoo with the kids and we can work something out when there's something to work out." She reasoned. "Not to be mushy or anything, but after… well, I didn't think I could get close to anyone again, but I couldn't have asked for anyone better B." she placed a hand on Bridget's shoulder and squeezed. "Now, what animals are we going to visit first?" she called out to the kids.

* * *

"New Harmony? You're sure about this, Bobby?" Dean asked.

"You think for something this important I'd be anything but sure?" Bobby scoffed. "Lilith's in New Harmony, and if we have any shot of getting you out of this deal, it has to be now. You've got two days, Dean. This isn't play time anymore."

"I got it, I got it." He answered.

"Hey, did you know that New Harmony is only a few miles from Philipstown?" Sam asked. "Maybe calling Jess wouldn't be such a bad idea."

"Since when are you on the Jessica bandwagon? As I recall, she wasn't a part of your fav-five." Dean asked. "Besides, I told her to stay out of it, and I meant it. I'm not getting her involved. Last time we did, she almost got killed."

"Dean, if she can help… she'd want to help." Sam trailed off. "At least go see her. If this thing goes south, she'd want to see you. And I know you want to see her."

"We can talk about this later. We need to get on the road. It'll take us all day to get there." Dean argued, knowing full well his brother was right. The three men packed their bags and headed to their vehicles to leave.

* * *

"Thanks again, Spence. I don't know how you convinced Hotchner to give you my background check, but thanks." She fumbled with her keys outside her front door. Why she always forgot to turn the porch light on when she knew she would be home after dark was beyond her. She held her phone to the knob so the light would shine on it and she noticed the scratches in the brass knob. "Hey Spence, I've got to go. I think someone may be in my house…"

"_What? Don't go in… call the police."_

"It's ok. I can handle it." She pulled her handgun out of her purse cocked it back. "I'll call you back." She said, and hung up. She slowly twisted the knob to open the door as quietly as possible. She noticed a light on in the kitchen and slowly made her way into the room. "Oh my god." She sighed and lowered her gun. "What the hell, Dean?" she asked the man with his head in her refrigerator.

"You weren't going to use that, were you?" he asked, pointing at the gun.

"Well, yeah. What are you thinking breaking into my house?" she asked, pulling out her phone to dial Spencer again. "Everything's fine, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"_Who was it?"_

"I'll tell you later. Let me know if you need anything else from me. Bye, Reid." She closed the phone and looked back at Dean. "You broke into my house?" she shrieked.

"I needed to see you." He replied calmly.

"You can't be serious." She switched the safety back on her gun and put it back in her purse before laying it down on the table. "What do you need?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"Why are you so irritated?" he asked.

"Why am I so…" she laughed. "Well, for one, the last time I saw you, you basically told me to get out of the way. Now you've violated my trust by breaking into my house. Care to explain any of that?"

"Lilith is here… in New Harmony." He met her eyes, serious as ever. Her cold expression faded instantly.

"What? I thought… you're not… that means it's soon?" she stuttered.

"Tomorrow." He answered.

"Tomorrow? She repeated. "So you're here to say goodbye." She realized. She moved in towards him and embraced him in a hug, pulling him tight.

"Everything's gonna be alright. I just wanted to see you again." He tried to comfort her, smoothing her hair.

"What can I do?" she asked, looking up at his face. He leaned down and let his lips graze her cheek before moving them to meet her own. Their tongues danced a familiar dance once more, getting more and more heated. Finally Jessica pulled back and grinned. "Last night on earth… you _were_ trying to get me into bed."

"Is it working?" he whispered. She responded by resuming the kiss and leading him by his jacket to her bedroom. Once inside, she pushed his jacket off and he did the same to hers. He pulled away from her only to strip off his t-shirt and then reconnected with her lips, then her neck. He slowly undid the buttons of her shirt, eyes closed in the kiss and peeled it off her arms. He skillfully unhooked her bra and she pressed her bare chest into his, hooking her arms under his and over his shoulders. He opened his eyes to see that she blocked any view he had.

"Wait." She whispered almost breathlessly. The rush of his skin touching hers was intoxicating.

"You want me to stop?" he asked.

"No… no… it's just. I… I've never done this before." She admitted, her face turning shades of pink.

"_Never_?" he asked shocked.

"I was too busy with school to date and when I got out of school, I was too busy with my career. I just never had the time for much of a social life." She explained.

"We don't have to do this." He assured her, pushing strands of hair out of her face.

"I want to." She nodded. "It's just… I have this scar from a procedure. No one's ever seen it before." She whispered.

"Let me see." His eyes asked her permission and he placed his hands on her shoulders to gently push her back. She nodded and closed her eyes, taking a step back. His eyes graced over her chest and at the vertical scar that started from her sternum and ran to just above her naval. He then took the time to marvel at her two small, yet supple breasts.

"Ok, you're making me self-conscious." She interrupted his gazes and he met her eyes again. "Seriously, say _something_." She said, moving her arms up to cover herself. He caught her arms and moved them back down.

"You're beautiful." He smiled. "Even better than I imagined… it's real." He unfastened her jeans and pushed them down for her to step out of. She felt his lips connect with her shoulder, his tongue traced over her collar bone and she instinctively threw her head back. Her fingers hooked into the waistband of his jeans and she pulled him forward until she was seated on her bed. Her fingers worked the button and zipper on his jeans and she was able to push his jeans and boxers down with one push.

Dean smiled at her reaction to seeing him for the first time and slowly pushed her back down on the bed, crawling on top of her. He raised her legs to remove her panties and threw them back behind him so that they would land in the heap of their other clothes. His body completely covered hers and he took her mouth in his again while his hands roamed over her body. "You sure you want to do this?" he propped himself up to one side as his fingers trailed up and down her torso, causing her to arch up even further into him. "I may never see you again." He whispered sadly.

"Can we not talk about that right now?" she asked, moaning slightly at his touch. "If I didn't want to be with you tonight, I wouldn't be. It's that simple." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him back down to her, capturing his lips.

"That's answer enough for me." He muttered between kisses. He slid one hand down between them to guide himself inside of her and tried to distract her from the pain he knew she would feel. She buried her head in the crook of his neck where he could feel her hot, labored breath. "Are you ok?" he whispered, running his fingers through her hair. She nodded the best she could and slowly fell back onto the bed beneath him.

Dean pulled back a bit and pushed back forward and Jessica pulled her legs up closer, letting one of them casually skim his thigh. His mouth caught her left breast and he lavished it with kisses before moving to the right. He continued to move as slow as possible; he had never been anyone's first before and he wanted to be delicate with her. Besides Cassie, she was the only one that would ever mean anything to him in the morning.

"Dean, it's ok. _I'm_ ok." She assured him. She pushed her hips towards him, slipping him further inside of her. He saw the slight discomfort on her face that she was desperately trying to hide, but decided to take her at her word. He bent his head down to rest on her shoulder and hooked his arms under hers before picking up the pace. When she began to meet his thrusts, he looked up at her face and smiled before kissing her again, his tongue mimicking the actions of his lower half. She moaned into the kiss and broke her mouth away from his to catch her breath. Dean lowered his lips to her collarbone and began to suck down knowing it would leave a mark, the thought alone made him smile.

The moment he felt her tighten around him he made sure to watch her face, wiping strands of damp hair out of the way. It was just like his dream… eerily so. The way her hair fell around her face, the look of desire in her eyes, the feelings between them… he knew this was it. Her back arched further, molding their bodies together and she allowed her head to roll back. One last moan escaped her lips and he felt her spasm around him, squeezing tighter. He desperately wanted to ask her the question, but feared his dream wouldn't line up with reality. A single look at her face along with the shots of electricity she sent up his spine with a single touch to his chest, his back, his leg; it was enough for him. Two more thrusts and he was spent; his head found its way to the crook of her neck and she held him there for as long as it took.

Out of breath, Dean rolled off of her and onto his back. He immediately pulled her to him and she wrapped a single leg over his before resting her head on his chest to listen to his heart beat. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever heard. She began to lazily trace over the scars on his torso. "You ok?" he whispered.

"Amazing." She smiled into his chest. "You?"

"Great. You were incredible." He stroked her hair and pushed it back off of her shoulder. "There's something I need to tell you." She propped herself up on one side to look at his face, her eyes expectant. "I just want you to know… when I picture myself happy… it's with you." Her eyes began to fill up with tears and she nodded, lying back on his chest. He started to feel the wetness hit his skin and he squeezed her forearm slightly. "Hey, hey… it's ok." He soothed.

"You're going to be ok, right?" she squeaked. "I mean, I know you said earlier that I may never see you again, but that's not true… right?" she asked, holding back her sobs.

"I'm going to be fine." He lied. The truth was he wasn't even sure what he was up against with Lilith. Maybe he would make it out alive, but chances were real good he would wake up tomorrow downstairs, and as much as that frightened him, he wasn't about to let her know that. She had no idea the ramifications of his deal… that it landed him in Hell. He wanted to keep it that way. "So are you still mad at me for breaking into your house?"

Jessica laughed and pulled her body closer to his. "No. I'm glad you came to see me… I'm glad it was you though. I was prepared to shoot someone." She smiled.

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time you shot me." He smirked.

"Are you staying?" she asked, praying he would. She wasn't ready for him to leave. Dean noticed the drowsiness in her voice.

"Sam and Bobby are at a motel. I told them I would meet them back there in the morning." He answered, pulling her tighter to him. "Go to sleep. I'm not going anywhere." She leaned forward to share one last kiss before drifting to sleep.

Light flooded in through Jessica's bedroom windows and she fought against opening her eyes. She reached for the body next to her, but his absence forced her eyes wide open. "No, no, no, no, no." she muttered. "Dean?" she called out to no answer. She threw on a t-shirt and made her way throughout the house. "Dean?" she called out again. When she got to the living room, she saw him looking at the pictures lining her shelves. "Dean? What are you doing?" she asked. "I thought you had left."

"I was actually about to go wake you up. I have to go soon." She nodded and turned to head back to the kitchen, Dean following her. She grabbed a key off the hook by the door and gave it to him.

"Here. Now you won't have to break in anymore." He smiled and put the key in his pocket.

"I'm going to come back to get this." He said, pulling off his ring. He placed it in her hand. "You _will_ see me again… whether you want to or not." He added. She smiled and hugged him; he wanted to stay longer. He kissed her goodbye and with that, he was gone.

Jessica sat at her kitchen table and listened to the sound of the Impala starting up and driving off down the road. She stared at the wall for what seemed like hours, but when she finally stood back up, it had only been five minutes. It was going to be a long, painful day.


	11. No Rest for the Wicked

Eleven. No Rest for the Wicked

"So Jess is alright?" Sam asked.

"She's fine. I just wish…" Dean trailed off. He didn't want to tell his brother that he knew this wasn't going to work out in their favor. If he couldn't tell her, he certainly couldn't tell Sam.

"I know." Sam finished.

The sound of sirens provoked Dean to stare at the flashing lights through his rearview mirror. "We're getting pulled over?" Sam asked his brother.

"I have a busted tail light." Dean answered. "It's not like we're in a hurry or nothing." Dean pulled over, the police car not far behind. He rolled down his window and took the license and registration Sam handed him as the cop flashed a light into the vehicle. Without looking up, Dean handed over the papers.

"Do you realize you have a tail light out, Mr. Haggard?" The cop asked. Dean looked up at the officer and decided to play this one calm.

"Yes… yes sir… uh, you know, I've been meaning to take care of that. As a matter of fact…" Dean swung the car door open, knocking the officer in the stomach as he charged out of the Impala.

"Dean!" Sam yelled as he got out of the car. Dean repeatedly connected his fist with the officer before grabbing Ruby's knife from his belt and jamming it into the cop's jaw. The officer's face flashed with light and Sam stood behind his brother, shocked.

"What the hell happened?" Bobby asked as he got out of his truck.

"Dean just killed a demon." Sam answered. "How'd you know?" he directed at his brother.

"I just knew." He answered and turned back to face the dead demon. "I could see it's face. It's real face… under that one." Dean and Bobby shared a look of worry before facing the body once again.

"So what, now you're seeing demons?" Sam asked as he helped his brother hide the police car.

"I've seen all kinds of things lately, but nothing like this." He responded.

"Actually, it's not all that crazy." Bobby pointed out.

"How's it not that crazy?" Dean asked in disbelief.

"Well, you've got just over five hours to go? You're piercing the veil, Dean. You're glimpsing the B side." He answered.

"A little less new age-y, please."

"You're almost hell's bitch. So, you can see hell's other bitches." Bobby responded.

"Thank you." Dean mocked.

"Well, actually it could come in pretty handy." Sam deduced.

"Oh, well, I'm glad my doomed soul is good for something." He scoffed.

"Damn right it is." Bobby argued. "Lilith's probably got demons stashed all over town. We can't let them sound the alarm. She knows we're here, we're dead before we've started."

"Well, this is a terrific plan. I'm glad to be a part of it." Dean continued his sarcasm. "Can we go please?" He walked back to the Impala, Sam and Bobby following.

* * *

"Happy birthday, sweetie." Mrs. Fremont's voice shook as she sat the cake down on the table in front of her daughter. The table was covered in bowls of candy and plates of cookies; any sweets imaginable.

"Happy birthday." Mr. Fremont and Pat chimed in, equally as nervous.

"Yay! It's my birthday everyday!" the little girl responded with a smile. She clapped her hands eagerly and blew out the candles before her mother moved the cake to cut it.

"Hmmm… cake. Again. It's good." Mr. Fremont said. Pat smiled a little and nodded in response.

"Hey, grandpa? Can I ask you something?" the little girl asked.

"Sure jelly-bean. Anything." Pat responded.

"Why did you try to go to Mr. Wayburn for help?" she asked. Mrs. Fremont looked up from the cake worriedly as Pat half-smiled, trying to escape his current situation.

"I didn't." He began. "I don't know what you mean."

"You're a big fat liar." The little girl said, the smile vanished from her face.

"I'm sorry… it was a mistake." Pat pleaded, beginning to show his fear.

"Did you two know about this?" the little girl asked Mr. and Mrs. Fremont.

"No." Mr. Fremont answered. They all shared worried glances and the little girl looked up at Mrs. Fremont.

"No." she repeated. Pat looked at the other adults, shocked that they would betray him.

"Grandpa? You don't love me?" the little girl asked.

"I do! I do love you!" he answered.

"No you don't. You're lying again. You're just a mean old man." She replied.

Pat looked up at Mrs. Fremont, his eyes pleading. "Do something. Help me, please." He begged.

"I don't think I like you anymore." The little girl spoke up again. She raised her hand and with a single wave, Pat's head twisted, breaking his neck. His body slumped over in the chair with his head landing on his plate. "No screaming, ok? Screaming makes me mad."

Mrs. Fremont removed her hand from her mouth and continued to cut the cake, choking back sobs. The little girl's face morphed back into a smile and she cheered up instantly.

"Mommy, can I have ice cream with mine?"

* * *

Dean, Sam, and Bobby watched through a window at the woman serving a piece of cake to her daughter. "It's the little girl. Her face is awful." Dean spoke.

"Alright then, let's go. We're wasting time." Sam said as he walked towards the house. Dean grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Wait." He demanded.

"For what? For it to kill the rest of them?" Sam scoffed.

"Yeah, and us too if we're not careful. Look. See the real go-getter mailman on the clock at 9 PM?" The three of them looked at the mailman sorting through the mail at the back of his vehicle. "And Mr. Rogers over there."

"Demons?" Bobby asked.

"Yes." Dean answered.

"Ok, fine. We-we ninja past those guys; sneak in." Sam reasoned.

"Then what? Give a Columbian-necktie to a ten-year-old girl? Come on!" Dean argued.

"Look, Dean. I know it's awful." Sam negotiated.

"You think?" Dean mocked.

"This isn't just about saving you, Dean. This is about saving everybody." Sam said.

"She's gotta be stopped, son." Bobby chimed in. Dean thought hard about what they were saying and looked back at Bobby.

"Oh, damn it."

* * *

"Read it again, mommy." Lilith asked innocently. She was lying in the little girl's bed with her head on her mother's shoulder.

"But I've read it 26 times." Mrs. Fremont's voice shook.

"Again." Lilith demanded before nuzzling back on Mrs. Fremont's shoulder.

* * *

Sam and Dean made their way through a few of the demons before Ruby appeared before Dean, holding him against a fence. "I'd like my knife back, please or your neck snaps like a chicken bone." She felt cold metal against her throat and saw Dean smile.

"He doesn't have it." Sam warned, holding the knife against her neck. "Take it easy."

"How the hell did you get out?" Dean asked when she released him. He had her in a devil's trap before they made their way to Indiana.

"What you don't know about me could fill a book." She spat.

Dean stared at her face, tilting his head a bit. "Whoa."

"What?" she asked. Dean instantly looked away.

"Nothing. I just… I couldn't see you before, but you're one ugly broad." He complained.

"Sam, give me the knife before you hurt yourself." She turned her attention to the younger Winchester.

"You'll get it when this is over." Sam argued.

"It's already over. I gave you a way to save Dean, you shot me down." She started. Sam was beginning to worry… he hadn't told his brother about their conversation about his abilities. "Now it's too late. He's dead and I'm not going to let you die too."

"Try and stop me and I'll kill you, bitch." He seethed.

"Hit me with your best shot, baby."

Dean looked behind his brother and Ruby and noticed the mob headed towards them. "Guys, guys! Hey, have your little catfight later." He snapped. They took off running towards the house. "So much for the element of surprise."

"Go, go! Run!" Sam shouted.

"What the hell is taking Bobby?" Dean asked when they got to the door. Sam picked the lock just in time for them to watch as the sprinklers came on causing the demons to cry out in agony. Bobby's plan to use holy water in the sprinkler system turned out golden.

Sam and Ruby stood over a body in the foyer, shocked. Dean shut the front door and turned to see the body and put on his game face. "You think Lilith knows we're here?" he asked.

"Probably." Ruby whispered.

The three of them maneuvered around the house until they ran into Mr. Fremont, Dean covered his mouth with his hand. "Shh… we're here to help, ok?" Dean whispered. "I'm gonna move my hand and we're gonna talk nice and quiet, ok?" Mr. Fremont nodded in agreement and Dean removed his hand.

"Sir, where is your daughter?" Sam asked quietly.

"It's not… it's not her anymore." Mr. Fremont answered.

"Where is she?" Sam repeated.

"Upstairs. In her bedroom."

"Ok, ok, ok… listen to me. I want you to go downstairs to the basement, put a line of salt at the door behind you. Do you understand me?" Dean whispered.

"Not without my wife." Mr. Fremont argued.

"Yes, without your wife." Dean demanded.

"No!" Mr. Fremont stated. Dean's fist made contact with his face when he deduced that reason wouldn't work. He slumped Mr. Fremont over his shoulder and took him down to the basement himself while Sam and Ruby continued upstairs.

Once upstairs, Ruby checked a room while Sam entered the girl's bedroom; he held the knife in front of him like a gun. He saw the girl and her mother seemingly asleep on the bed, the pink canopy surrounding them. He rounded the corner of the bed, switching the knife to stabbing position and his eyes made contact with Mrs. Fremont's frightened ones. "Do it." Mrs. Fremont whispered, motioning to the girl on her shoulder. He looked back and forth between the girl and her mother trying to collect his thoughts on stabbing a little girl. "Do it! Hurry!" Mrs. Fremont whispered as the little girl shifted awake. When she opened her eyes, she let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Sam raised the knife over the little girl and just as he was about to wield it down, Dean grabbed his arm. "It's not her!" he shouted. The little girl breathed heavily, grabbing her mother while Ruby entered the room behind Sam and Dean. "It's not in the girl anymore." He continued. He got Mrs. Fremont and the girl to agree to join Mr. Fremont in the basement and they moved back downstairs to the living room.

"Well, I hate to say I told you so." Ruby scoffed.

"Alright Ruby, where is she?" Sam asked.

"I don't know."

"Could she get past the sprinklers?"

"Her pay-grade, she ain't sweating the holy water." She replied.

"Ok, you win. What do I have to do?" Sam asked, Ruby looked at him puzzled.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"To save Dean." He elaborated. Dean walked up behind Sam. "What do I need to do?" he repeated.

Dean grabbed his brother, trying to turn him around. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Just shut up for a second." Sam replied, shaking his brother loose. "Ruby!"

"You had your chance. You can't just flip a switch… we needed time." She explained.

"Well, there's gotta be something! There's gotta be some way, whatever it is, I'll do it." Dean grabbed his brother again and he turned around. "Don't! I'm not gonna let you go to hell, Dean!"

"Yes you are!" Dean said frustrated. They looked each other in the eye for a moment and he repeated himself calmer, "Yes you are." Sam looked at his brother in defeat. "I'm sorry. I mean, this is all my fault, I know that. But what you're doing, it's not going to save me… it's only going to kill you."

Sam looked away for a moment, tears filling his eyes. "What am I supposed to do?" he asked.

"Keep fighting… take care of my wheels. Sam, remember what dad taught you, ok?" Sam nodded trying to fight back the tears. "And remember what I taught you." He added. Dean's eyes began to fill with tears as well as the clock struck midnight. Sam turned his head to allow his tears to flow. When he looked back up, Dean gave him a tiny smile as he tried to stay calm.

"I'm sorry Dean. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy." Ruby offered. Dean could hear the hellhounds growling through the house. He turned his head to the door and Sam followed suit, knowing something was up.

"Hellhound." Dean said quietly.

"Where?" Sam asked.

"There." He nodded towards the door. He took off running with Sam and Ruby into another room and slammed the door in the hound's face. He took out a bag of goofer dust and frantically lined the door and window with the dust. The pounding at the door stopped for a moment and Ruby turned to Sam.

"Give me the knife, maybe I can fight it off." She demanded.

"What?" Sam asked, confused.

"Come on! That dust won't last forever."

Dean turned to look at them right as Sam was handing Ruby the knife. "Wait!" he shouted.

"You wanna die?" Ruby asked.

"Sam, that's not Ruby. It's not Ruby!" he shouted. Sam turned back to Ruby who shot him across the room against the wall, the knife hitting the floor. She turned back to Dean and sent him flying backwards onto a table, pinning him. "How long have you been in her?" he grunted.

"Not long." She answered child-like. "But I like it… all grown up and pretty." Her eyes flashed white as she looked up at Dean.

"Where's Ruby?" Sam asked.

"She was a very bad girl, so I sent her far far away."

"You know, I should've seen it before… but you all look the same to me." Dean added.

Lilith walked slowly to Sam, tilting her head. "Hello, Sam. I've wanted to meet you for a very long time." She grabbed his chin and forced in a kiss, their lips sizzling. "Your lips are soft."

"Right, so you have me. Let my brother go." Sam demanded.

"Silly goose. You wanna bargain, you have to have something I want. You don't." she teased.

"So this is your big plan, huh? Drag me to hell, kill Sam… then what? Become queen bitch?" Dean asked venomously.

"I don't have to answer to puppy chow." Lilith responded. Dean tried to fight against Lilith's power, but to no avail. She moved to the door and twisted the knob. "Sick 'em boy." She sang.

Sam and Dean looked at each other before Dean moved his focus back to the door. The hound's breath blew away the dust at the door and it charged for Dean, grabbing him by the legs and dragging him off the table. Dean screamed in agony as it ripped into his chest; he could feel his own life slipping away. He thought of Sam, his only brother… how much he loved his brother. This was all for him. He thought of Jessica. He wished he had more time to spend with her, but he didn't. He could hear Lilith's laughter… it was deafening.

"No!" Sam screamed, tears streaming down his face.

Dean turned over onto his stomach and the hound continued to slash at his back, his shoulder. He struggled against the attack, still yelling out in pain.

"Stop it!" Sam shouted.

The hound had Dean flipped back and ripped more at his chest, blood gushing out everywhere. He continued to think about the people he loved. Sam, Jess, Bobby… above all, his mom. He hoped it would distract him from the pain. He was wrong. Lilith watched with a smile as Sam continued to scream out. Dean's voice went still and he was fighting his last breaths.

"No!" Sam shouted again.

"Yes." Lilith smiled. She held her hand up towards Sam and a white light emitted into the room. Sam closed his eyes and turned his head, and the white light retracted, leaving Lilith standing shocked and confused. Sam was huddled next to a cabinet when he noticed Lilith's look of horror. He stood and picked up the knife off the floor and walked towards her. "Back." She demanded as she held a hand up to him. He continued his trek to her. "I said back!" she yelled again.

"I don't think so." Sam said, raising the knife. He pulled back for the kill and Lilith forcefully exited Ruby's body as she screamed; the body collapsed as soon as the smoke cleared. Sam ran to his brother's side, crying as he held his bloody brother. Dean's eyes were wide open, but he was gone. "No… no, no, no… Dean." Sam sobbed.

* * *

Jessica heard a key in the lock and smiled, twirling the ring on her finger again. He said he would come back for it and it was something she would happily return if it meant seeing him again. She heard the door open and footsteps enter into the foyer. She walked hurriedly to the front of the house and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw who was there. Sam.

"No." she whispered, seeing the stains on his face from his own tears. "No." her voice got louder. Sam moved closer to her to try and calm her down, which only made her more frantic. "No!" she shouted, her sobs becoming more labored. Sam reached out for her and she grabbed onto him, both crying for the one they lost.

"We tried." Sam cried. "We really tried."

"I don't want to know." She whispered, calming herself down. "I don't want to know…" Sam nodded in response. She shouldn't have to have the image of Dean's death in her mind. "Sam, I'm so sorry. I know how much he meant to you." She offered sympathetically. She wiped the tears from her face, knowing she needed to be strong. She could fall apart when he left. "Why don't you come sit down?" she asked, drying up her tears. Sam followed her into the kitchen where he sat down at the table. She sat a glass of water in front of him and sat down beside him.

"Thank you." He said quietly.

"Where's Bobby?" she asked. She twirled the ring again and tried not to cry.

"He's burying the body." Sam answered, crumbling again. "I couldn't be there. I couldn't even bury my only brother." He put his head in his hands and his sobs grew louder.

"Shh… it's ok." She pulled his hands down. "It's normal, Sam. What you're feeling is normal." She assured him.

"He's dead because of me." He responded. "What about that is normal?"

"Hey, this isn't your fault. You can't blame yourself." She placed her hand on his, and then it hit her. "We can get him back."

"No, we can't." he argued.

"Why not? He made a deal to get you back… we just have to make a deal to get him back." She answered, exasperated.

"Are you out of your mind? He would kill me if he knew you were even considering it."

"So what do we do?" she asked.

"Nothing. There's nothing we can do." He whispered, already formulating his plan. Dean wouldn't want them to make a deal, but there were other things he could try… but he wasn't about to try and involve her. "How did you deal? After Beth?" he asked.

Jessica sighed and looked down at her hands. "I just kept telling myself she was in a better place… and that I would catch the psycho that did it. But it helps knowing _he's_ in a better place."

"You're kidding, right?" Sam scoffed, his blood boiling. "Is this some sort of sick joke?" he asked, standing.

"What? No! What are you talking about?" she followed him with her eyes, a bit panicked.

"Dean's in hell, Jess. Hell. And you come at me with some "better place" bullshit?"

"What?" she asked, not sure if this was real. "Oh my god, I'm gonna be sick." She got up and ran to the back of the house. Sam's eyes widened, suddenly realizing that Dean never told her the consequences of his deal. He had to get out of there… he couldn't handle someone else's grief as well. He grabbed a piece of paper by the phone and scribbled down _"I'm sorry."_ and left the house. He started up the Impala and raced down the street, never once looking back.


	12. The End has no End

Twelve. The End Has No End.

"_Enjoying the new job?"_

"I am." Jessica spoke into the phone. "Bobby, I know it's tough for you… you're welcome to come visit in Virginia for a while… maybe get your mind off things?" she offered. She had been staying with Reid for almost two weeks now while she looked for an apartment, but she was willing to speed up the process if Bobby needed her.

"_I'm good, darlin'. How are_ you_ doing?"_ he responded. Jessica sighed… she hadn't talked to anyone except Bridget about Dean since he died two weeks earlier. She got the offer from the bureau shortly after, and Agent Hotchner had special requested her to his unit. Sure it was probationary, and she had to work under SSA Morgan for a while, but she was happy for anything to keep her busy. To keep her mind off Dean.

"I'm all good, Bobby." She lied. Truth was she was a mess, she was just good at hiding it. She was the same way after Beth. "Have you heard from Sam at all?"

"_No. He's messed up something awful I imagine."_ Bobby pointed out. _"He lost his big brother. Those two were closer than anything I'd ever seen. Not to mention, he blames himself."_

"I remember. Let me know if you hear from him." She responded. "Listen, Bobby, I gotta go. I just got to work." She smiled and Bobby could hear it in her voice.

"_This job is important to you… it's good to know you're smiling again, Jess. Talk to you soon." _He replied.

"Thanks Bobby… bye." She ended the call and made her way through the building on the way to her desk. "Good morning." She smiled at Penelope as they passed in the hallway.

"Morning." She smiled back. "How was your weekend?" Penelope continued to walk with her to the bullpen area.

"Great. I got a lot of nothing done." She laughed. "You?"

"I see we have similar tastes in weekends." Penelope replied. You're gonna fit in just great here." Jessica made it to her desk and Penelope continued on to her office. "See you later."

"Bye." She called. "Well hello there, Morgan." She teased.

"You southern girls better watch out for a brotha." He smirked back. "Anything special happen this weekend?" he asked.

"My lips are sealed." She smiled before looking at the stack of papers on her desk.

"Alright, alright." He chuckled.

"BAU team, conference room." Hotchner announced as he passed by.

"New case?" she asked Morgan.

"We'll see." He answered, they both stood and walked to the conference room where JJ, Reid, and Prentiss were already seated. Gideon and Hotchner walked in and shut the door behind them.

"This is Anna Hinkle." JJ began, clicking the remote to show a picture of a blonde girl lying dead in a patch of leaves. "She's the third victim in a string of rape/homicides in New York over the past two months. The other two victims, Joanna Thomas and Sarah Kramer were found dead in different areas of Central Park."

"What's that on their faces?" Prentiss asked.

"The UnSub carves numbers into their cheeks. NYPD originally thought it corresponded with the order of their death, 4… 5… so on, but Anna had the number 12 carved on her face. It didn't match up." JJ answered.

"Unless there are a lot more victims." Morgan chimed in.

"Unlikely… the UnSub leaves the bodies in a heavily populated area: Central Park. He probably dumps them at night when it's secluded, but it doesn't appear that he takes any precautions against them being found. It sounds like he wants someone to discover them." Reid explained.

"He's right. All three were found by joggers in the early morning. M.E. put time of death no longer than seven hours prior. All three were strangled." JJ added.

"Taylor, you're the symbolism expert. What do you think the numbers mean?" Gideon asked.

"It says here that all three put up a major fight… Anna fighting the hardest. All three had differing levels of GHB in their system, but the levels go down with each kill. If we're dealing with a sadist, he would want his victims to struggle… show fear. When he strangles them, he would want each one to last longer than the previous girl… prolong his satisfaction. I mean, it could be anything, but what if the numbers are how long it took for them to die?" she reasoned.

"If that's the case, he's getting better. He more than doubled his kill time from the previous murder." Morgan said. "He's perfecting his art."

"Alright, please continue to read over the case file. Wheels up in 30 minutes." Hotchner announced. They all stood to exit the room and go their separate ways.

"Nice catch on the numbers." Reid said as he caught up with Jessica.

"Not for Anna if I'm right. Or his next victim." She sighed.

* * *

Once on the jet, Prentiss made her way to Reid and casually sat down next to him. "Having fun?" she asked, motioning to his game of solitaire.

"Actually, solitaire flexes the mind… much like poker or spades." He replied.

"You're a walking textbook, Reid." She grinned.

"So I've been told." He answered, lowering his eyes.

"It's not a bad thing." She assured him. "We rely a lot on that brain of yours." He looked up across the plane at Jessica laughing with Morgan as they played their own game of cards and Prentiss smiled. "You like her." She poked.

"What? No… she's my friend." He answered nervously, returning his gaze to the cards.

"It makes sense. Why you pushed so hard for Hotch to transfer her here."

"She helped us out on a case… he thought she could be useful fulltime." He argued. "I didn't push anything."

"Sure…" she teased back before opening the case file to read over more of the details.

* * *

"Is _this_ your card?" Morgan asked, holding up the three of clubs.

"No." Jessica laughed.

"You sure?" he asked, looking at the card in confusion. "Well, I learned the trick from Reid… I probably zoned out when he was explaining it." He smiled.

"Really?" she asked. "I've learned so much from him… it's strange to think he's only a year older than me…" she trailed off, unconsciously twirling the ring on her finger again.

"So, tell me about yourself. We're kind of family around here, so it's interesting to have a fresh face. You've been here almost two weeks and you've pretty much kept to yourself." He asked.

"You're the profiler. You tell me about me." She smiled. Morgan was such a flirt, it was easy to deflect around him.

"Ok, ok." He chuckled. "Let's see… you're young and outlandishly smart, a clinical psychiatrist with a strong expertise in schizophrenia… which would explain why you're an expert at symbolism as well. Most of your patients probably experienced symbolic hallucinations." He started.

"Wow. That's totally weak. Any of that can be found in my personal file." She teased.

"You didn't let me finish." He wagged his finger at her. "You identify with Reid, which leads me to believe you're not used to much of a social life. You tend to stick to yourself because you think your intelligence is a curse, but it's not… it's a gift, just like his." He smiled. "We all know you were close with your sister and after you lost her you probably had trouble getting close to anyone else."

"You're on a roll." She applauded.

"You also twirl that ring on your finger constantly… but you're not married. You allow me to flirt with you, so you're probably not seeing anyone. An unconscious obsession over that ring says that it was a gift from someone… more than likely someone special. It's someone you miss and you feel like when you touch it, they're right there with you."

Jessica's smile faded and she dropped her hands into her lap, out of sight. She focused her attention back to the cards and began digging for the one that Morgan had been looking for. "_This_ was my card." She said, holding up the eight of diamonds.

"Hey, I didn't mean anything by it." He apologized as he took the card from her hand. "It's ok to have your secrets, believe me, I get that." He assured her, warranting a small smile.

"So, you think this UnSub has more victims?" she asked as she picked up all the cards.

"There's no way to know for sure until we get there, but I think Reid was right. He wanted them to be found… it's unlikely he would have hidden others better than these." Morgan answered, going with the subject change.

"Ok, everyone… we'll be landing soon. Reid, JJ, you guys set up base at NYPD, get the captain up to speed with what we've discussed… trade notes. Gideon, Prentiss, and I will be there as well to go through the victimology. Morgan and Taylor, I want you to meet up with the lead detectives at the scene. We don't need to exert more of a presence than absolutely necessary." Hotchner announced.

"One thing you should know is that we're generally well received by the detectives, but New York detectives have a vendetta against the feds. You're gonna get some lip." Morgan warned.

"I can handle it." Jessica answered.

* * *

"Captain Cragen, my name is Jennifer Jareau, we spoke on the phone, this is SSA Hotchner, SSA Gideon, SSA Prentiss, and Dr. Reid." JJ said, extending her hand. He took it and smiled.

"Don Cragen." He responded. "My two leads are already at Central Park, but this is Detective John Munch and Detective Finn Tutuola."

"All of your victims were found in Central Park in relatively open areas." Reid began.

"That's correct."

"We believe the UnSub does that intentionally. He wants the bodies to be found. He's what we would call an anger excitation rapist… a sexual sadist that we believe is taunting the public." Reid continued.

"What makes you say that?" Tutuola asked.

"The numbers he carves into their face." Prentiss took over. "We think he may be telling you how long it took to kill these women. The numbers will grow with every victim because he enjoys the torture before-hand. It's the only way he gets off."

"Damn… working sex crimes, you'd think you get used to it… you never do."

"I think the minute you get used to it, that's when it's time to leave." Gideon responded. The detectives nodded in response. "Where would you like for us to set up?" he asked Cragen.

"There's a larger room down the hall. It's not much, but it should suffice."

"Thank you." Hotchner replied.

* * *

"Excuse me? I'm looking for Detective Stabler." Jessica asked the brunette woman in front of her. She noticed the badge and deduced they were in the right place.

"He stepped away for a minute… phone call. You must be the feds we're supposed to meet with." The woman responded when she saw Morgan. "Olivia Benson." She shook Jessica's hand.

"Jessica Taylor. This is SSA Derek Morgan. Is this where Anna was found?"

"Yeah. Joanna wasn't more than 100 yards from here. Sarah was just behind that tree over there." Benson pointed.

"We know he strangles them, but do we know what he uses to carve the numbers?" Morgan asked.

"M.E. found metal fragments in the skin. She thinks he's using an ice pick."

"Makes sense." Morgan nodded.

"Liv, just talked to Cragen… the feds are here." A man announced as he approached them.

"Yeah. This is SSA Jessica Taylor and SSA Derek Morgan with the BAU." Benson pointed out. "This is Detective Elliot Stabler." The group exchanged nods and got back to the crime scene.

"The rest of our team set up shop at your precinct, but we like to get a feel for what the UnSub went through… put ourselves in his shoes." Morgan explained. The detectives nodded and Morgan was shocked at how decent they were being. "So I'm the UnSub… why dump the bodies in plain sight?"

"Because you want them to be found." Benson answered.

"Exactly. No better place to dump a body in plain sight in New York then right here. This guy is highly organized; he's the type that stalks his victims. He picks them for a special purpose. Maybe she reminds him of an old girlfriend, his mother, something about these women sets off a trigger."

"He's a sexual sadist, but I'm sure you already knew that." Jessica chimed in. "This type of offender is extremely anal retentive. He plans every detail of the crime before he even puts the plan into action. He prepares a nest for his prey, one that would be extremely difficult to find."

"So now what?" Stabler asked.

"He's gaining speed between his kills, so with the time gap between Sarah and Anna, I would say he's already found a new target. He may not have abducted her yet, but he definitely has her in his scope. All three were blonde, light skinned, and in their mid 20s. He certainly has a type." Morgan replied. "I say we look around a bit more and meet back up with the rest of the team… Hotch may want a press conference."

* * *

"I thought you said they'd be difficult." Jessica stated as they pulled into the station. "They seemed nice enough to me." she got out of the car and followed Morgan to the building.

"Yeah, yeah… it's all because we brought a pretty young thing to keep their mind occupied." Morgan smiled back as they walked up the steps to the police station. "After you." He motioned as he opened the door.

"Morgan, what do we have?" Hotchner asked when he saw the other two members of the team enter the room.

"Not a whole lot we don't already know." He started. "The park is definitely not the kill site. He's probably a nester. He's very comfortable in that one specific area of the park. All three bodies were found within 100 yards of each other. And he's picking up speed between kills…"

"He's probably already picked his next victim." Reid restated.

"We know he likes young blonde women, mid twenties, physically attractive. These are affluent women… he's not targeting the weakest of society which tells us that he's confident. He more than likely waits for them to seclude themselves." Hotchner concluded.

"Neither of you go anywhere by yourself." Gideon said looking at JJ and Jessica. "You're specifically his type." Both nodded in response and Morgan put a reassuring hand on Jessica's back when he saw her twirling the ring again. She was nervous.

"He spends three days with his victims. All three were reported missing three days before their bodies were found. If Taylor is right about the numbers, the torture is certainly escalating. For an anger excitation rapist, you're looking at a man between the ages of 30 and 39, likely with no criminal history. He's very good at not getting caught. He was raised in a single-parent household, probably by his mother, and would have shown aggressive and sexual promiscuity at an early age." Hotchner began.

"This is your Ted Bundy." Prentiss spoke up. "He is a killer first and foremost, but he thrives on the degradation and torture of his victims. It's the only way he can achieve sexual pleasure."

"He's educated, very intelligent, and is sexually confident. He may even be married with a family." Gideon added.

"Sick bastard." Tutuola muttered.

"He's charming, handsome. He isn't grabbing these women off the streets… he's coaxing affluent members of society into his vehicle. He uses a ruse… could be an illness or injury to prey on their compassion. His car is nice enough to make women feel comfortable, but by no means is it flashy. He doesn't want to draw a whole lot of attention to himself. We suggest looking for a large, dark sedan." Jessica said. "He will have a rape kit in his vehicle… tape, restraints, and more than likely the ice pick he uses to carve their faces."

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Detective Stabler." An older woman announced from the doorway. She was gripping tissues in one hand from obvious crying and what appeared to be a photograph in the other.

"I'm Detective Stabler, ma'am. What can I do for you?" He asked, making his way to the woman.

"It's my daughter, Lacy. She's a law student at NYU." Her voice shook. "Her roommate called me this morning and said she didn't come home last night… I called her cell phone and it's been turned off. Her purse and keys are still at her apartment. She wouldn't leave without them! I read about the bodies found in Central Park and I-I-I… she's my daughter!" she got frantic.

"Ma'am. Ma'am. I understand. Is it normal behavior for her to not come home?" he asked.

"No. My Lacy's an over-achiever. I've tried to get her to do something other than read a book, but… please… just get her back." She cried.

"Can I see this?" he asked, taking hold of the photograph. She nodded and let go and Stabler's face dropped. He turned back to the agents that had been listening and held up the photo. The girl in the photo was a petite blonde holding a puppy close to her chest with a wide smile, and if she was in law school, that put her at the perfect age.

"Damn." Morgan whispered.

"Munch, can you take Mrs…" Stabler trailed off.

"Waters." She answered.

"Mrs. Waters, down the hall and get her settled?" Stabler continued. Munch walked her down the hallway and Hotchner nodded in approval at Stabler.

"If Lacy Waters is his next victim, she has three days." Gideon stated. "Morgan, get Garcia to dig up all she can on the victims. They have to have _someone_ in common."

"They were all grad students at NYU." Benson spoke up. "None of them were in the same program though. If your age range is correct, we're looking for a faculty member, not a student."

"His level of confidence and intelligence could coincide with a man of authority at a major university. It fits." Reid agreed.

"We did look at one of Joanna's professors, Dr. Hale pretty hard. A few of her classmates thought they were having an affair." Tutuola responded.

"Were they?" Hotchner asked.

"Not that we could prove. He's a scumbag, but he's not our guy." He answered.

"Hey there, hot stuff." Morgan spoke, his phone on speaker.

"_You know what that does to me."_ Garcia answered. _"What can the oracle do for you today?"_

"I got another name for you to add to the list… Lacy Waters."

"_Damn. This guy works fast. Ok, law student at NYU… parents divorced, mother lives in New Jersey, father in Milwaukee. Oh my god…" _she trailed off.

"What?" Jessica asked.

"_Her brother committed suicide last month. I found an article… Daniel Waters, he was 22."_ She answered quietly.

"Joanna's mother died of cancer six months ago." Stabler added.

"Garcia, pull up the other victims. Were there any deaths in their family?" Morgan asked.

"_Let's see…"_ they could hear her typing over the phone. _"Sarah Kramer had a miscarriage back in July and… Anna Hinkle… I got nothing."_ She finished.

"Nothing?"

"_Nothing."_ She repeated.

"Alright… thanks momma." Morgan said.

"_For you, anytime. Garcia, out."_ She responded and ended the call.

"Grief counseling." Prentiss said as if she had an epiphany.

"But Anna didn't have any deaths in her family." Stabler responded. "If he's targeting women in a grief counseling session, why Anna? What's her connection?"

"She was in the counseling psychology program." Benson pointed out. "She was helping lead a therapy program for… hold on, let me find it..." She moved back to her desk. Morgan's phone began to ring again and he took it off his belt.

"Yeah, Garcia?" Morgan asked, answering his phone.

"_So get this… Joanna, Sarah, and Lacy were all a part of a campus grief counseling group led by none other than…"_

"Anna Hinkle?" Morgan asked.

"_Exactly." _

"There's our connection. Thanks baby girl." He responded, closing his phone.

"Grief counseling." Benson finished with a baffled look on her face. "How did we not catch this before?" she asked.

"The records were probably sealed by the university. They aren't supposed to keep tabs on who goes to these things… they're anonymous so that the students that lead them can keep an unbiased mind." Hotchner explained.

"Then how did she know?" Cragen asked.

"She's Garcia. She knows." Prentiss answered.

"So if it's a sealed records group, how do we talk to these people?" Benson asked.

"We give him another target." Jessica answered flatly. "He won't be able to resist."


	13. No Lies Can Hide

Thirteen. No Lies Can Hide.

"I don't like it, Jason." Hotchner argued after Gideon shut the door behind them. "I'd rather send in JJ. We _know_ she can handle it."

"She's been too publicized." Gideon shook his head. "We run the risk of her being recognized. Unless you can find another cop in this precinct that matches the description, I don't see any other option." He looked at his friend and knew what was bothering him. "This is about Elle… you're afraid that she's going to snap like Elle did."

"I'm not going to put another one of my people on the line." Hotchner glared.

"We don't have enough for a warrant for the names, Hotch. With Professor Varuck refusing to cooperate with us, we've got nothing else to go on. There could be a girl's life at stake. She doesn't have to go alone, you know." He pointed out. Hotchner thought hard for a moment and nodded in agreement. He didn't like it, but it had to be done.

"Taylor, Reid, a moment?" he asked, opening the door to the room. Both agents nodded and walked towards Hotchner. "Dr. Varuck, the professor that oversees the group, is citing patient/client confidentiality, and we can't get a warrant for the names of the students in the grief counseling sessions… everything we have is too circumstantial. The records are sealed and we need this to be clean, so I'm not asking Garcia to unseal them… we can't risk catching this guy and letting him walk."

"What do I need to do?" Jessica asked, knowing where this was going. "I'll need a student I.D."

"That'll be easy." Gideon responded.

"She can't go by herself." Hotchner pointed out. "Reid, you're going too. You fit his victim specificity." He looked at Jessica. "It's a group for students and the two of you are the closest in age to the victims."

"Is there anything we need to know from either of you that could jeopardize this?" Gideon asked. Reid and Jessica shared a look, Reid's being confusion.

"What do you mean?" Reid asked.

"The next session is this afternoon at 3:00. Can you perform this without letting personal emotions in the way?" he clarified, focusing on Jessica. "This is a group of people that have lost someone. It won't be easy to separate yourself from your story… especially if it's real to you."

"I can get this done." She answered.

"Good." Gideon nodded.

* * *

"You'll be wearing a wire." Hotchner told them. "We'll be with you at all times, we'll hear what you hear."

"Hotch and I will be out in the front lot, Gideon and Prentiss will be around back. No one gets near you without our knowledge. We've got your back." Morgan spoke up holding his fist out to Jessica. She bumped it with her own and smiled. "We good?"

"We're good." She replied.

"Reid, you're going to be very important in this. If he's in there, he's going to focus on Taylor; he's going to want to make her talk as much as possible. He needs to know her pain so he can use it against her later. We can only hear, but you can watch them. Watch for anyone that pays more attention to her." Hotchner said calmly.

"Reid, you got this." Morgan put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. Reid smiled slightly and sighed.

"What's my story?" Reid asked.

"Taylor lost her sister… it'll be easy for her to identify with these people. You? You lost your brother in a car accident four months ago. You probably won't have to use the story at all, but if you do… make sure it's believable." Gideon answered. "Try not to associate with one another. It's important that we make him believe she is completely alone."

* * *

After swiping her student I.D. at the doorway, Jessica walked into the room to see a few people sitting in chairs making a circle. She saw Reid, but remembered what Gideon said and avoided eye contact. She picked a chair and took a seat, anxiously waiting for the group to begin. She looked down at her hands and used her thumb to twirl Dean's ring, wondering if she should have agreed to do this. She wasn't sure that she _could_ remove herself from this kind of case.

A few more people made their way in and Reid did a count. Nine. Besides himself, there were only three other men in the room… none of which fit the age they were looking for. But as Gideon had pointed out several times before, age was the hardest to pinpoint. He could still be in this room. He gazed around to see if anyone in particular was paying close attention to Jess, but he got nothing.

"Good afternoon everyone." An older woman announced as she entered the room.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Varuck." A few of the members answered back.

"How is everyone?" she asked as she scanned the room. "I see we have a few new faces… what's your name?" she asked, looking at Jessica.

"I'm Jessica." she answered nervously.

"Hi Jessica." Some of the members resounded.

"Would you like to share your story with us?" Dr. Varuck asked.

"Um…" Jessica's voice shook and she looked down at her hands again. She looked at the ring and smiled, a tear forming in her eye as she looked back up. "I, um… I lost my husband." She started, Reid's eyes shot in her direction. This wasn't her story. "He was killed… well, I'm sorry." She apologized as the tears started to flow.

"_Damn. She's good."_ Morgan said as he and Hotchner listened in.

"_She's going off script."_ Hotchner replied, nervous.

"I just… I changed schools after. I thought maybe if I left Georgia, it would get easier. I see him everywhere I go. I ran into someone after class the other day and the color of his shirt… it reminded me of his eyes." She sniffed. "Anyway, I just figured it was time for me to do something about it… not just sit and cry all day." She added, trying to smile at Dr. Varuck.

"Thank you, Jessica. You're very brave." She smiled. "And you are?" she asked, looking at Reid.

"Spencer." He answered.

"Would you like to share?"

"I uh, I lost my brother…" he cleared his throat. "In a car wreck. I think I'm fine, but I'm here as a favor to a friend." He continued.

"Thank you, Spencer. Grief comes in many forms… we've found that to be a big difference in men and women. The level of grief we feel corresponds to the closeness of the one we lost and how we cope in general. Whether you've lost a spouse or a casual acquaintance, there's no right or wrong way to grieve. That's what we're going to focus on tonight." Dr. Varuck soothed.

* * *

After the session ended, the team made their way back to the station. "Anyone stick out to you?" Stabler asked Reid.

"No." Reid replied, baffled. "It doesn't make sense… the whole time she was talking, none of the men looked at her. They all looked down… if he was in there, he's scary good."

"It's ok, Reid. What about Dr. Varuck? What do we know about her?" Hotchner inquired.

"Not much. I can call Garcia, see if she can dig up anything." Morgan answered before walking down the hallway to make his phone call.

"The next session isn't for another week. Garcia is checking the names we got from the feed against school records and news articles. We were hoping for a breakthrough and we didn't get one, so we have to step it up a bit." Hotchner stated.

"Hotch, you have to hear this." Morgan declared, entering the room again. He turned his phone on speaker and the group gathered around him. "You still there, Garcia?"

"_Affirmative."_

"Ok, tell them what you just told me."

"_Ok, so your Dr. Varuck has an interesting story. She's a counseling psychologist who's practice centers mostly around grief, obviously… but only since two years ago. Before then she was a marriage and family counselor."_

"Why switch focuses?" Reid asked.

"_Well, junior G-man, her mother passed away three years ago and she shut down her practice. I guess she decided she was better suited to help others with their grief after she went through it herself."_

"Is this going somewhere?" Prentiss asked.

"_Getting there. She started working for the university shortly after, but took a leave of absence after her husband, Carl Varuck's, daughter was shot and killed during a mugging three months ago. She was 26. I'm sending you a picture now."_ She finished.

"Blonde hair, athletic build, light skinned, mid twenties." Hotchner noted, looking at his handheld.

"_And before you ask, I'm sending you the address. During Dr. Varuck's leave of absence, she left her counseling duties to Anna Hinkle, her star student."_

"Garcia, do you have a picture of Carl Varuck?" Hotchner asked.

"_I have a driver's license photo, but his record is clean. But, you'd be interested to know that his parents divorced when he was an infant and he was raised by his mother. I'll send you that address as well. She's still in New York."_

"Good work, Garcia." Gideon spoke out.

"_Thank you, sir."_ Garcia responded. Morgan closed his phone and secured it back on his belt.

"I saw him in the hallway as we were leaving." Reid pointed out after seeing the picture of Carl Varuck. "I thought he may have just been another professor or something." He explained.

"Did he notice Taylor?" Hotchner asked.

"Not that I saw." He shook his head.

"I didn't even see him." Jessica added. "I can go back and talk to Dr. Varuck… maybe play up my story a bit more… get some outside counseling?"

"Not alone." Gideon answered disapprovingly.

"Well, I can't very well take Reid with me… we're not even supposed to know each other."

"Then you don't go." Morgan stated. "That simple." Jessica turned to face him and he sighed. "He's already got one girl… giving him access to another may send him into hyper drive. It could get Lacy killed and you on his radar."

"Hotch, this guy is ritual. Whether I'm on his radar or not, he _has_ to stick to his schedule. Three days, right… well, we've got two left. He's never taken two at a time." She argued.

"That doesn't mean he wouldn't when faced with the temptation. I'm sorry, the answer is no. Reid will go talk to Dr. Varuck…, Prentiss and I will go talk to the mother, JJ, we need to work up a press conference. Get Lacy's picture out there, but classify her as a runaway. We haven't released the names of other victims either… maybe this guy will contact us if he thinks we've got the story wrong. Morgan, stay here with Taylor and go over the police files again. Maybe there's something we've missed that can help." Hotchner ordered.

* * *

"This is pointless." Jessica sighed, going over the same file for the third time. "There's nothing here. We should be out there trying to find her."

"We are trying to find her." Morgan argued.

"No. I'm reading over a file that has no useful information in it, and you're babysitting me." She spat. "I'm not stupid."

"Hey." Morgan started. "What's up with you?" he asked. His tone said he cared.

"Nothing." She sighed. "I just don't like feeling useless."

"You're not. We're doing all we can… it's just not what _you_ think is best. Trust Hotch… he knows what he's doing."

"I just don't understand… why send me in if he wouldn't even let me finish it?" she asked, frustrated.

"If I had to guess, It would have to be because of Elle." Morgan answered, looking back down at another file.

"Who?"

"She was here before Prentiss. Hotch feels responsible for the fact that she's not on the team anymore. He let her go undercover on a case too soon after she experienced a trauma and she ended up killing an UnSub." He explained.

"I haven't experienced a trauma." She argued. "There's no basis for comparing me to her."

"Let me ask you something." Morgan closed the file in front of him and looked her square in the eye. "What was that story you told earlier about losing your husband?" he asked. "Everyone expected you to use your sister, but you didn't."

"Talking about her would let my emotions get in the way." She answered. "I decided to just make something up. It worked."

"There you go messing with that ring again." He pointed out. "You're lying… if there's something you're not telling us, that's fine. Like I said, it's ok to have your secrets. But take it from me…" He leaned down to keep eye contact with her. "Talk to _someone_. It's not good to just bottle stuff up like that." Jessica nodded and looked back down at the file.

"I'm going to run down the hall and get something out of the machine… you want anything?" she asked.

"Nah, I'm good. Thanks." He answered, not looking up from the file he had reopened.

"Ok, I'll be back." She turned and made her way to the vending machine at the end of the hall. After grabbing the candy bar from the machine, she decided against going back to the small room with Morgan and chose instead to get some fresh air for a minute. She bundled herself up in her jacket and made her way to the bus stop outside the precinct and sat on the bench, watching the random people passing her by.

"Jessica, right?" A young brunette woman asked as she approached.

"Yeah…" she answered. "You were at the group session, weren't you?" She moved over a little for the girl to sit.

"Thanks." She smiled as she sat down. "I'm Abby… so that was your first session?" she inquired.

"Yes… yours?"

"No. I've been quite a few times. I lost my dad last year… suicide." She answered sadly.

"I'm sorry." Jessica offered.

"It's ok." Abby started. "I'll be good for a while, but then something will just click in my mind, you know… that's when I go back. Dr. Varuck can be helpful, but I liked it better when one of her students was running them."

"Why's that?"

"Well, for one, Anna was closer in age… it was just easier to talk. It felt like talking to a friend." She answered. "Also, Anna didn't keep records on us."

"Records?" Jessica asked.

"Yeah. Dr. Varuck keeps notes about us… she usually works on them right after sessions while their fresh on her mind." She explained.

"How do you know that?"

"I'm in the counseling program. She's one of my professors… I used to be her TA and she used to dictate them to me." She explained.

"What kind of information does she keep?" Jessica asked, pieces of the puzzle starting to come together in her mind.

"Names, stories, whether or not we make progress… how often we go to the meetings, that sort of thing." Abby noted. "Sometimes she takes her notes home with her, which is kind of uncomfortable… I mean, what if Carl reads them too?"

"Carl?"

"Dr. Carl Varuck. Her husband." Abby nodded. "He's the chair of the counseling program. He prefers we call him Carl though… he's a nice man, but it's weird knowing he might know my issues... maybe that's just me being paranoid." She chuckled.

"So he has access to school records?" she asked.

"Well, yeah… I'm sorry, I'm not trying to make you feel like you shouldn't go back. He probably doesn't even read them." Abby assured her.

"Right…" Jessica started. "Abby, I've got to go, but thanks for talking with me." She stood up.

"You're not going to wait for the bus?" she asked, confused.

"No." Jessica answered and turned to walk as calmly as possible back to the station. When she rounded the corner to head back to the room, she saw Morgan ending a phone call. Perfect timing. "Morgan…" she began.

"Where the hell did you go?" he cut her off. "Nevermind… listen, I just talked to Garcia. Carl Varuck, or should I say_ Dr._ Carl Varuck is the chair of the counseling department at NYU… high position of authority." He beamed proudly.

"I know…" Jessica nodded her head. "Morgan, I think I figured it out…" she trailed off, still sorting pieces in her head. "Dr. Varuck takes notes of the sessions." She started.

"You never told us that… neither did Reid."

"She doesn't take them _during_ the sessions… she dictates them to a student after the session ends." She finished. "She even takes the notes home with her."

"How do you know all this?" Morgan asked, furrowing his brow.

"I just ran into one of her students outside… she was in the session too." She answered, not caring about the fact that she wasn't supposed to go anywhere alone.

"You… outside?" he asked.

"You wanna scold me or you wanna hear the rest of it?" she asked. He motioned for her to continue and she nodded. "So she takes the notes home… Carl reads over them. The question is whether she knows he does or not."

"Ok, he reads the notes. It still doesn't explain where he keeps them or how he knows who they are… these things are anonymous. First names only… how does he even know the students use their real names?" he proposed.

"The I.D.'s." she answered emphatically. "I had to swipe mine at the door. He can cross check the names we give in the sessions with the I.D swiped at the door and get an endless supply of information from the school records. From photos and orientation surveys to admissions interviews, addresses… I mean, it's like a stalker's heaven." Her voice sped up to show her excitement. "I still don't know where he keeps them, but Morgan… this is our guy!"

"I'll call Hotch… maybe they've gotten something off his mother." Morgan responded, quickly dialing the number.

"He's got to be spending a fair amount of time with his victims." Jessica noted. "Not even his job would stop him from that… if we follow him, he'll lead us right to her."

"Hotch, he's our guy. He's getting his info from the school records." Morgan spoke into his phone.

"_His mother is showing early signs of dementia… there's not much we're going to be able to get from her."_

"Taylor and I will head to the school. He can lead us right to her, Hotch."

"_Under no circumstances do you split up, understand? Let us know where he is every step of the way… you don't go in without backup." _Hotchner ordered with all seriousness.

"Got it. I'll be in touch." He hung up the phone and stood up. "Let's go." Jessica nodded and followed him out of the station.


	14. There Goes the Fear

Fourteen. There Goes the Fear

"Come on, Spence… pick up." Jessica groaned quietly into her phone. "Spence!" she almost shouted when he finally answered.

"_Yeah?" _Reid answered.

"Morgan and I nailed him. It's Carl Varuck for sure. Are you still at the university?"

"_Yeah. Gideon and I are still here. I just left Dr. Varuck's office... she said her husband does a lot of work from home."_

"Is he at work now?" she asked.

"_Hold on, we're about to pass his office."_ He answered. _"Sorry, no… lights are off."_

"Damn it. We need to find him." She stressed. "Morgan and I will head to their house."

"_We'll keep looking here. I'll call you if we find him."_ He negotiated and then hung up.

"If he's not at the school, he's at his nest. Let's hope we can find it." Morgan said, turning the vehicle around.

"I could really go for some Metallica right now." She thought, smiling to herself; she remembered riding with Dean and how he would only listen to the same five albums over and over again. It was annoying at the time, but she was realizing how much she missed it.

"What's that?" Morgan asked, straining to hear.

"Metallica." She repeated, turning red. Did she really say that out loud? "This occasion, it just seems appropriate."

"I'm sorry, did you just share personal information with me?" Morgan chuckled. "So you're a Metallica fan huh? I never would've guessed."

"Ha, yeah… I guess I did." She smiled back. "A good friend of mine loved Metallica… it kind of grew on me I guess."

"_Loved_? As in past tense?"

"Oh, it's this street." She pointed to the next sign up, hoping it would distract him from prying. "Do you really think his nest is anywhere near his home?"

"It's somewhere he's comfortable." He shrugged as he made the turn. "This is a pretty nice neighborhood… I seriously doubt he's holding girls here. Not enough privacy." He pointed out. Jessica nodded in agreement as they pulled up across from the house.

"No car in the driveway… " she noted.

"Could be in the garage?" Morgan asked.

"I'll go check." Jessica answered, unbuckling her seat belt.

"Not by yourself… I don't think so." He protested. "If he's our guy and he sees you…" he warned.

"Am I the only one that believes I can take care of myself?" she challenged. "Seriously, Morgan." She shook her head and got out of the vehicle, casually walking across the street and up the driveway. She peeked in the window of the garage and saw a dark colored Toyota inside that she assumed to be Varuck's. She turned to walk back to the SUV when she spotted something out of the corner of her eye… a large patch of grass around the side of the house that to most people would just appear to be nothing more, but the blood began pumping in her veins erratically and she decided to trust her gut. She withdrew her gun and motioned to Morgan with her head where she was headed.

"What are you doing, Taylor?" he rolled his eyes, sighing as he got out of the vehicle to run behind the trees to where she was at. She inched up slowly to her target, gun pointed down while Morgan covered her in case anyone came outside. That's when he saw it… the grass was a slightly brighter shade of green than its surroundings, and in a perfect rectangle too. "We should call Hotch." He whispered.

"You call, I'm gonna check this out." She whispered back, squatting down to dig around. "Morgan, there's a latch here." Her voice spiked while Morgan dialed the number.

"Hotch, we may have just found where he keeps them. Taylor and I are at the house." He looked over and she had her ear pressed up against the earth.

"_We're on our way. Wait there."_ Morgan nodded and flipped the phone shut.

"Morgan, I think I hear someone down there." Jessica whispered.

"It's the perfect spot. Assuming he does his own yard work, you can't even see this spot from the road with all the trees in the way. There's no windows next door that face this side of the house… no one would ever see him." He reasoned.

"Seriously, Morgan… it's faint, but I swear I hear voices." She repeated. "I'm going down there." She declared, standing back up.

"What? Hotch said to wait." Morgan questioned. The two exchanged argumentative glances before he rolled his eyes again and nodded. "You open the door, I go down first. Got it?" he demanded.

"Got it." Jessica reached down and quietly pulled the latch back, allowing the door to open. She nodded at Morgan and pointed her gun down the stairs. Morgan did the same and began to ease himself down the steps; he could see a faint light coming from the bottom. Jessica followed him, one foot in front of the other as quietly as possible.

"_Somebody pleeeeease… please help me."_ A defeated groan made its way to their ears. Morgan hit the bottom of the stairs, Jessica right behind him to see what he could. There was Lacy Waters, arms tied to a post behind her, stripped of her clothing save for a bra and panties, her body bruised and bloody. She had sunk down to the floor, pulling her knees up to her chest while crying silently against her kneecaps, unaware of the two agents that had just entered her nightmare. Carl Varuck was nowhere in sight. Morgan entered the room a bit further to allow Jessica past him to secure Lacy, keeping his gun aimed at the stairs in case he came back down.

"Lacy?" Jessica whispered. The girl lifted her head, sobbing when she saw that it wasn't her captor. "Shh… it's ok, we're FBI… we're gonna get you out of here." She took off her jacket and draped it over Lacy's body before working at the knots that bound her wrists. When she finally got them free, Lacy stood shakily and pulled the jacket tighter around her body, hugging Jessica and crying. "Shh… it's ok." Jessica soothed.

Jessica turned to help the girl out of the tiny room when a hard object collided with her face, sending her straight to the ground. Morgan turned abruptly to see Varuck push Lacy out of the way to get to Jessica, crowbar in hand. "Drop it!" he yelled out, but Varuck was on a mission.

"So beautiful." Carl smiled. As the crowbar lifted over his head to swing down upon Jessica, Morgan fired a single shot, hitting him in the shoulder. He stumbled backwards before dropping to the floor beside Lacy. When his head turned to face her, Lacy screamed, jumped to her feet and ran to where Morgan stood.

"Taylor?" Morgan asked, easing up to Varuck, his gun still aimed directly at him. "You alright?"

Jessica groaned, feeling blood rushing to her head, some spilling out of a gash near her jaw line. "I'm good." She answered, spitting out blood. She sat up and held her head as she watched Morgan grab Carl's arms, cuffing him in front. He kicked the crowbar out of Varuck's reach and helped Jessica stand. "Get her out of here. I'll wait down here with him." She said motioning to Lacy, who was still crying hysterically.

Morgan nodded and handed her back her gun. "They're on their way." He walked to Lacy and put an arm around her shoulder. "Can you walk?" he asked. She nodded and he helped her up the stairs. They made their way around to the front of the house to see another black SUV round the corner.

"I thought I told you to wait." Hotchner said angrily as he and Prentiss got out of the vehicle. Prentiss took hold of Lacy and helped her into the car.

"We heard her down there, Hotch. We made a judgment call." He explained.

Hotchner nodded at Morgan and sighed. "Where's Taylor?"

"She's still down there with him. He's been shot. I got him in the shoulder… it's a flesh wound." He led Hotchner around the side of the house and down the stairs where they found Jessica leaned up in the corner, knees drawn up and her gun pointed at a groaning Varuck.

"You alright?" Hotchner asked her.

"Fine. Just get him out of here." She slurred. The two men grabbed Varuck under the arms to drag him back up the stairs; he yelped in pain the entire way to the surface where the medics were waiting.

"Jess?" a voice called from the top of the stairs. Jessica let her gun fall to the floor the moment he was gone and leaned her head back against the wall. "Jess?" the voice asked again, closer this time. She rolled her head to see Spencer running to her side. "Hey, what happened?" he whispered, kneeling beside her to look at her wound.

"Got hit." She answered.

"Here, let me help you up." He stood and held out a hand that she took, pulling herself up. He tried to walk her to the bottom of the stairs when she shook him off.

"I'm ok, Reid. I got this." She barked, making her way up the steps. When the sunlight hit her eyes, she groaned and grabbed her head again. She looked around her and saw Detective Stabler reading Varuck his rights and entering the ambulance with him, Benson giving her an appreciative nod from across the yard, and Lacy's tear-stained face in the window of the SUV. She sighed, knowing it was over and made her way back to the others.

"Benson found a false door through the garage. That must've been how he got to you without me seeing." Morgan explained as Jessica was getting bandaged in the back of an ambulance. She nodded and cringed in pain as the medic continued touching her face. "How bad is it?" he asked.

"She's lucky… no broken bones." The medic answered. "Clotting time was actually pretty fast… she'll be fine, just sore for a while."

"Great." She groaned. "I'll just tell everyone I got into a bar fight… much better story than some perv knocked me out with a crowbar." Morgan smiled at her joke and patted her on the shoulder before walking back to the SUVs.

* * *

Spencer looked out the window of the jet as they took off from New York. Most everyone else was either reading or listening to music, but not him. He just let his mind wander all over the place. He thought of the case they had just wrapped; he thought about that group session and the story Jessica had told. He knew it wasn't true, but he didn't think it was a lie either. Something had been bothering her since she got to Virginia, he knew it, but he didn't want to push her. He saw something out of the corner of his eye and turned to see Morgan sitting across from him removing his headphones.

"What's going on in that head of yours, Reid?" he asked genuinely. "Today was as much a victory as we're ever going to have, but you look upset about something." Spencer let his eyes wander to Jessica sitting with her nose in a book, two small butterfly bandages across her blackened jaw.

"I'm worried about her." He answered quietly, looking back at Morgan. "She's different."

She's in a new place, getting used to new people. You just have to give her time."

"I've known her for years, Morgan. I've never seen her this detached." He replied. Morgan looked at him questioningly. "She's been staying with me, you know?" he began. "She doesn't want anyone to know… she doesn't want to come across as dependent." Morgan nodded. "But it's like she's not even there… something's wrong." He added sadly.

"You can't make her talk." Morgan started. "But you can be there for her. She's a smart girl, Reid. She knows there's a problem and she knows she needs to talk to someone… she's just not ready yet. Just be there when she's ready." Reid nodded in agreement and looked back out the window; Morgan replaced his headphones and closed his eyes for the remaining hour of the flight.

* * *

"I'm going to bed." Jessica yawned when they got back to Reid's flat. He just nodded and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator before heading to his study. She didn't say a word the entire ride home, and he wasn't surprised that she didn't say more when they got home. He listened to the door to the spare bedroom close and sighed.

Jessica looked her face over in the mirror and let out an annoyed groan. There was intense bruising on her lower cheek, not to mention the scar that would form from the gash on her jaw. She looked like she went ten rounds with Mike Tyson and signed up for more. After she turned the light off, she settled under the covers and tried to get to sleep, but with no luck. She tossed and turned for what felt like hours, but after looking at her clock only surpassed ten minutes.

She thought about what Morgan had said to her back at the precinct. Had she been that transparent? Of course she had… she sat in a room full of profilers trying to hide a secret. Only an idiot would think that would work. She had talked to Bridget, who had convinced her that taking this job would help… and as far as she could tell, it had. How was it that she was able to counsel others on fixing their problems, but when it came to her own she was completely useless? She couldn't do it alone. That was it… that was her breakthrough. With a flick of her wrist the bedside lamp turned on and she stared at Dean's ring knowing this wasn't going to be easy.

"Hey, can I come in?" Jessica asked meekly after tapping on the door to the study. Reid looked up from the letter he was writing and gave a small smile.

"Sure… can't sleep?" he asked putting the spiral and pen down on the floor.

"No… actually, I haven't really slept in two weeks." She answered, letting out a sarcastic chuckle.

"I know." Reid admitted almost embarrassed. "I can tell something's been bothering you… I just didn't want to push it… you've been calling me Reid. It's weird." He motioned for her to sit next to him on the small couch.

"Thanks." She answered, sitting down. "I appreciate that… I, um… you're my best friend, Spence." She blurted out. "I don't have a lot of friends, so I'm not sure how much of a compliment that is, but I really need a friend right now." He noticed the tear in her eye and he frowned slightly.

"What's wrong?" he asked sincerely.

"Well," she began, reaching down for his water bottle and took a sip. She never asked, and he actually didn't care. "A couple of weeks ago, Dean came to see me." He nodded for her to continue. "He was on a job, and this one… well, it was a bad one."

"This is the job you can't tell me about?"

"Yeah." She answered apologetically. "Basically someone was after him and he didn't think he was going to make it… he came to tell me goodbye." She closed her eyes and breathed in deep for what came next. "He was killed the next day." Her voice shook and she leaned her head down into her hands.

Reid placed a hand on her back and drew himself closer to her. "I'm sorry." He whispered. "Do you know who was after him?"

"No." she lied. "He never wanted me involved with his work… I want to honor that." She sat back up and rested her head against the back of the couch in pain; she sat up too quickly and the blood flowed directly to her wound, causing it to throb.

"How's your jaw?" he soothed.

"Hurts like hell." She answered. "Looks like hell." When she realized what she had said, she clamped her eyes shut again to hold back the tears. She had no idea what hell was like… but Dean did.

"I think it looks pretty cool, actually." He smiled. In reality, he could barely look at her face without wanting to shove his gun down Carl Varuck's throat and pull the trigger… and Reid was by no means the violent type. "So he just came to say goodbye? That's it?"

"Pretty much." She averted eye contact and toyed with the ring again.

"The story you told at the group session… that was about him, wasn't it?" she closed her eyes again and nodded. "That ring is too big for your finger…" he noticed. "Dean gave it to you."

"He said he would come back for it… but I think deep down we both knew he wouldn't." she still wouldn't look him in the eye and he knew there was more to it than that.

"Did something happen?" he asked, not sure what he meant by the question… it just came out. She started to cry again and his heart sunk in his chest. "Hey, I'm sorry… you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." He assured her.

No. She had made the plunge… she left it out when talking to Bridget, but it was eating her up inside. "We… we, um… I slept with him." She stuttered quietly.

"Oh." He responded, a bit surprised. He began rubbing circles on her back with his fingertips while staring at the floor. "Did you love him?" he squeaked, unsure if it was appropriate.

"Yes… and, well, no." she began. "I know I didn't know him for very long, but I trusted him… completely. I did love him, but I wasn't _in_ love with him… which made sleeping with him incredibly stupid." She continued.

"No… no… there's nothing wrong with what you did." He assured her. "These days, many people have sex for reasons other than love… statistically…"

"Spence." She cut him off. "I don't need a statistics lesson right now."

"Right… sorry." He nodded. "I am sorry about Dean though." He added genuinely.

"Me too…" she trailed off. "I miss him so much." Her eyes welled up again. "Ugh, I'm so exhausted… I haven't slept, my face kills, and I'm pretty sure I'm coming down with something." She added, feeling sick to her stomach.

"You've bottled this up for a while… it may have manifested itself physically." Reid explained, handing her the bottle of water for her to drink. She accepted gratefully and rested her forehead on his shoulder.

"You're a good friend, Spence." She sighed as he wrapped an arm around her. "I'm so sorry for how I've been treating you these past two weeks… you've been nothing but generous to me… helping me with this job, giving me a place to stay. You must think I'm awful."

"Not at all." He argued. "I've been worried about you. I'm glad you finally talked to me." He smiled, pulling her close. "What can I do?"

Jessica sighed heavily and pulled back, looking at the spiral he had left on the floor. "Is that for your mom?" she asked.

"I saw her a few months ago… I think seeing her makes me feel even more guilty about putting her in that place." He explained.

"_You_ are a good son." Her eyes met his. "She's had years to adjust to being there. You said she's happy, right?"

"Yeah."

"You did what was best for her. I'm sure she understands that… you have nothing to feel guilty about." She soothed.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Reid spoke up again. "How about a movie… you know, since you can't sleep."

"Sure." She answered. "No romance… for obvious reasons. And no comedy… laughing hurts."

"Wanna watch things blow up?" he smiled, his eyes trailing off nervously.

"Spence… you know the way to my heart." She smiled through the searing pain.


	15. The Other Side

Fifteen. The Other Side

The only thing he could hear was the sound of his own labored breathing. The oxygen surrounding him was stale; he knew it would run out soon. He fumbled around in his pocket and his fingers discovered a small lighter. After several tries, he was finally able to ignite a flame. Once his eyes adjusted, Dean realized he was in a pine box; what he assumed to be his coffin.

"Help!" he tried to shout. His voice was hoarse, and he cleared it to pick up volume. "Help! Help!" he continued to yell while pounding at the top of the box. Dirt rained down on his head and he said a silent 'thank you' as the box began to split. Whoever had buried him had done an awful job, but he was grateful for that. The grave was shallow enough that he was able to break ground within minutes.

His hand pierced the soil and his eyes cringed at the violent sunlight that greeted him. He punched through with his other fist and proceeded to pull himself out of the pit, groaning and gasping for air. When he finally pulled his entire body out, he rolled over onto his back, exhausted. His head rolled to the side and he caught a glimpse of his surroundings: dead trees in a perfect circle. Unholy ground.

Dean gathered the strength to stand and began his trek down a dusty road. In the distance, he spotted an old gas station. When he finally reached the door, he balled his fist and pounded on the door. "Hello?" he called out, noticing an unsettling abandonment about the place. Dean rolled up his outer shirt over his fist and broke the glass in the door, unlocking the knob from the inside and opened the door.

All he could think about was water. Once that need was satisfied, he moved on to a stand with a stack of newspapers. His eyes widened when he read the date: Thursday, September 18. "September?" he thought out loud. He went under four months ago; that couldn't be right. He found a small sink around the corner and splashed water over his face. When he caught his reflection in the mirror, he pulled his shirt up to reveal his chest… not a mark on him. His mind flashed back to the hellhounds ripping him to shreds, and he frowned in confusion. What was going on? What he found next shocked him even more: on his left shoulder, he bore a large red handprint that appeared to have been burnt into his flesh.

He made his way back into the main area of the gas station and began throwing various snacks and drinks into a bag. He came across the magazine rack and found the newest issue of Busty Asian Beauties. Smirking, he pulled it off the shelf and flipped through it before throwing it in the bag. Swinging the bag onto the counter, Dean searched the register for a way to open the drawer. When he found it, he snapped in approval as the drawer flew open. As he began to loot the cash, the television to his left flicked on, static ringing out. He looked at it in confusion and turned it off only to have the radio to his right begin to play white noise. Determined, he grabbed a carton of salt from a shelf and began to pour it along the windowsill.

Out of nowhere a high-pitched tone began to ring throughout the room. Dean grimaced in pain and clutched his ears, dropping the salt. He fell to the floor when the windows shattered; he jumped up and tried to escape the phenomenon, but with no success. When the sound ceased, he looked around cautiously before grabbing his bag from off the counter and making his way out the door.

He remembered spotting a payphone outside the station. That was his saving grace. He put a coin into the phone and dialed the number he remembered all too well. _"We're sorry. You have reached a number that has been disconnected."_ The automatic message irritated him. He put in a second coin and dialed another number. _"Hello?"_ the southern voice chirped on the other end. Dean opened his mouth to speak and found himself unable to form words. _"Hello?"_ the female voice reiterated. Why couldn't he say anything?_"Hello?"_ she asked again, sounding irritated. Dean decided now wasn't the time and slammed the phone on the receiver. Maybe the third time would be the charm.

"_Yeah?"_ a gruff voice answered after the first ring.

"Bobby?" Dean asked. Oh, so now words would come.

"_Yeah?"_

"It's me." He stated matter-of-factly.

"_Who's 'me'?"_ Bobby asked.

"Dean." All Dean heard was a dial tone. Son of a bitch hung up on him. He dialed the number again and waited for the voice.

"_Who is this?"_ Bobby asked angrily.

"Bobby, listen to me." Dean pleaded.

"_This ain't funny. Call again, I'll kill you."_

Dial tone. Again. Dean sighed and hung up the phone. He turned around and spotted an old beat up car and his eyes lit up. When he was finally able to hotwire the car, he drove off away from the gas station.

* * *

What the hell was that? It had been hours, but Bobby was still wondering who would be impersonating his dead friend… more importantly, why. His thoughts were interrupted by a pounding at the door. He walked to the door and swung it open; it was all he could do to keep from falling over at the sight. There stood Dean, winded and apprehensive, a small smile cautiously forming on his face.

"Surprise." Dean spoke.

"I… I don't…" Bobby stuttered in response.

"Yeah, me neither." He replied, entering the house. "But here I am."

Bobby inched his way to Dean, slyly picking up a silver knife to hide behind his back. As Dean approached him, Bobby found his opportunity; he lunged at Dean with the knife, but Dean was too quick. He grabbed Bobby's arm and twisted, catching him off guard. Bobby broke the grip and backhanded him in the face.

"Bobby, it's me!" Dean huffed.

"My ass." Bobby snarled back.

Dean shoved a chair in between the two of them and held out his hands. "Whoa, whoa, whoa… wait! Your name is Robert Steven Singer, you became a hunter after your wife got possessed, and… you're the closest thing I have to a father." He said hoping to get his attention. "Bobby, it's me." He repeated.

Bobby lowered the knife and slowly stepped towards Dean. He placed a hand on Dean's shoulder, causing Dean to let his guard down. Bobby slashed at him with the knife again and Dean was able to quickly subdue him. "I am not a shape shifter!" he shouted.

"Then you're a revenant!" Bobby yelled back. Dean shoved Bobby away from him, taking the knife and held it out in front of him.

"Alright… if I were either, would I be able to do this with a silver knife?" he rolled up his sleeve and sliced a small line across his arm, cringing from the pain. Bobby saw the blood flowing freely from the wound and he desperately wanted to believe this.

"Dean?" he asked hopeful.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you." Dean answered sternly. Bobby broke his reserve and grabbed Dean into a tight hug, Dean happy to return the embrace.

"It's good to see you, boy." Bobby said when they pulled apart.

"Yeah. You too."

"But… how did you bust out?" Bobby asked puzzled.

"I don't know… I just uh, I just woke up in a pine box." Dean responded, looking away. When his face met Bobby's again, Bobby splashed water in his face. Dean paused for a moment and spit out the excess water. "I'm not a demon either, you know."

"Sorry. Can't be too careful." Bobby shrugged. He led Dean deeper into the house and handed Dean a towel to wipe his face. "But, that don't make a lick of sense." He protested.

"Yeah, yeah… you're preaching to the choir." Dean responded.

"Dean… your chest was ribbons, your insides were slop, and you've been buried four months. Even if you could slip out of hell and back into your meat suit…"

"I know, I should look like a thriller video reject." Dean finished.

"What do you remember?" Bobby asked.

"Not much." He lied. "I remember I was a hellhound's chew toy, and then… lights out. Then I come to six feet under… that was it." He watched as Bobby sat down. "Sam's number's not working. He's uh… he's not…" he trailed off.

"Oh, he's alive… far as I know." Bobby answered, knowing what Dean was worried about.

"Good." Dean nodded. "Wait… what do you mean, as far as you know?"

"I haven't talked to him for months." Bobby responded.

"You're kidding." Dean scoffed. "You just let him go off by himself?"

"He was dead set on it."

"You should've been looking after him." Dean griped.

"I tried." Bobby stated. "These last months haven't been easy, you know… for him or me. We had to bury you."

"Why did you bury me anyway?" Dean asked.

"I wanted you salted and burned… usual drill." Dean nodded. "But… Sam… he wouldn't have it." Bobby explained.

"Well, I'm glad he won that one."

"He said you'd need a body when he got you back home somehow. That's about all he said." Bobby continued.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked suspiciously.

"He was quiet… real quiet… after he saw Jess. And then he just took off. Wouldn't return my calls… I tried to find him, but he didn't want to be found."

"Oh, damnit, Sammy." Dean muttered, ignoring the comment about Jess.

"What?"

"Oh, he got me home ok, but whatever he did, it is bad mojo." Dean raced.

"What makes you so sure?" Bobby asked tentatively.

"You should've seen the grave site… it was like a nuke went off! And then there was this… this force… this presence. I don't know, but it… it blew past me at a fill-up joint. And then this." He pulled off his jacket and yanked up his sleeve to reveal the handprint.

"What in the hell?" Bobby asked, standing back up.

"It was like a demon just yanked me out… or rode me out." Dean scoffed.

"But why?" Bobby asked, astonished.

"To hold up their end of the bargain."

"You think Sam made a deal." Bobby realized.

"It's what I would've done." Dean assured him. "Got a phone I can use?" he asked. "I need to find him." Bobby nodded and handed him the phone and a phone book. Dean looked up the number he needed and dialed. "Yeah, hi. I have an account with you guys and I uh, I lost my phone. I was wondering if you could turn the GPS on for me."

"_Ok, sir. What's the name on the account?" _ the female voice on the other end asked.

"Yeah, name's Wedge Antilles."

"_What's the social on the account, please?"_

"Social is 2474."

"_Ok, sir. I've given you access. You'll just need to login to your account online."_

"Thank you." He answered and hung up. He made his way to the laptop on Bobby's table and logged into the account.

"How'd you know he'd use that name?" Bobby asked.

"You kidding me? What don't I know about that kid?" Dean answered, pulling up the location. "Hey, Bobby?" he asked, picking up one of the many glass bottles scattered around. "What's with the liquor store? What, your parents out of town or something?"

"Like I said." Bobby began. "Last few months ain't been all that easy."

Dean held Bobby's gaze and nodded. "Right." The computer beeped and Dean focused back on the page. "Sam's in Pontiac, Illinois."

"Right near where you were planted."

"Right where I popped up. Hell of a coincidence, don't you think?" Dean responded.

"Let's go."

"Hey… um… you think we could make a pit stop after we find Sam? Maybe Indiana…" Dean asked.

"She's not there anymore." Bobby answered, knowing what he was looking for.

"Oh." Dean nodded. "Well… I guess I wasn't really expecting anything." He rationalized.

"Let's just find your brother… we can worry about the rest later." Bobby responded sympathetically.

"Right."

* * *

Dean and Bobby made their way down a dingy hallway of the Astoria Motel to room 207. Dean knocked on the door and held his breath for his reunion with his brother. The door was opened by a slender brunette in her underwear that under any other circumstances, Dean would've been hitting on.

"So where is it?" she asked expectantly.

Dean shot a confused look to Bobby. "Where's what?" he asked the woman.

"The pizza that takes two guys to deliver." She rolled her eyes.

"I think we got the wrong room." Dean began to explain to the woman. That's when he saw Sam step in and he inhaled deeply.

"Hey, is…" Sam started when he saw Dean in the doorway. He swallowed hard, his shocked eyes bouncing from Dean to Bobby.

"Heya, Sammy." Dean said quietly. He stepped into the room, ignoring the woman and keeping eye contact with his brother. When he got close enough, Sam lunged at Dean with a knife, eliciting a scream from the brunette in the corner. Dean was getting really tired of having to defend himself against people that didn't believe he was real. He blocked Sam's attack and Bobby pulled Sam off by the shoulders.

"Who are you?" Sam shouted, struggling against Bobby.

"Like you didn't do this!" Dean shouted back.

"Do what?" Sam yelled.

"It's him… it's him. I've been through this already… it's really him." Bobby assured him. Sam stared at Dean, the struggle slowly leaving his body.

"What?"

"I know… I look fantastic, huh?" Dean asked, slowly approaching Sam again. Bobby let him go and Sam stepped to Dean, tears in his eyes. He grabbed his brother in a hug and the two of them stood like that until the brunette interrupted.

"So... are you two like… together?" she asked. Sam pulled back from the embrace, having forgotten she was even there.

"What?" he asked shocked. "No… no… he's my brother."

"Uh… got it. I guess. Look, I should probably go." She pointed to the door.

"Yeah… yeah. That's probably a good idea. Sorry." Sam answered. The woman got dressed and Sam opened the door for her.

"So, call me." She smiled.

"Yeah… yeah… sure thing, Cathy." Sam nodded.

"Christie." She corrected him, disappointed.

"Right." Sam responded, eyes wild. He shut the door behind her and turned back to Bobby and Dean. He sat on the bed, his brother and friend eyed him suspiciously.

"So tell me, what'd it cost?" Dean asked angrily, arms crossed.

"The girl?" he smiled back. "I don't pay, Dean."

"That's not funny, Sam." Dean began. "To bring me back… what'd it cost? Was it just your soul, or was it something worse?"

"You think I made a deal?" Sam asked, dumbfounded.

"That's exactly what we think." Bobby chimed in.

"Well, I didn't." he answered defiantly.

"Don't lie to me." Dean growled.

"I'm not lying."

"So what, I'm off the hook and you're on, is that it?" Dean's voice grew angrier. "You're some demon's bitch-boy? I didn't want to be saved like this."

"Look, Dean… I wish I had done it, alright?" Sam yelled, standing up. Dean grabbed him by the shirt and pulled.

"There's no other way this could have gone down. Now tell the truth!" he glowered. Sam broke the grip and pushed back.

"I tried everything. That's the truth. I tried opening the devil's gate. Hell, I tried to bargain Dean! But no demon would deal, alright? You were rotting in hell for months… for months and I couldn't stop it! So I'm sorry it wasn't me, alright? Dean, I'm sorry." Sam finished, exasperated.

"It's ok, Sammy." Dean relented. "You don't have to apologize… I believe you."

"Don't get me wrong… I'm glad Sam's soul remains intact, but it does raise a sticky question…" Bobby interjected.

"If he didn't pull me out, then what did?" Dean answered softly.

"Um, guys… I may have an idea." Sam brought up. "See… that night in New Harmony… I went to see Jess." He continued.

"Yeah, we know." Bobby assured him. Neither of them were sure how Dean was going to react to what they both knew was coming.

"She asked about making a deal." Sam ended.

"What?" Dean's voice boomed.

"I told her it was impossible… that they wouldn't deal with her… she had nothing they wanted." Sam clarified.

"You and I both know that's not true... they may not have traded her for me, but they could've weaseled a deal for her sister!" Dean argued. "Why would you even plant the idea in her head?"

"I didn't, Dean. She brought it up! I talked her out of it!" Sam raised his voice.

"She didn't make a deal, Dean." Bobby cut in.

"What?"

"She didn't make the deal. Think about it… you said it. They wouldn't have traded her for you."

"You said she didn't make _a_ deal… how would you know that?" Sam asked.

"Because I've kept in touch with her." Bobby sighed. "She calls me from time to time. I can guarantee you she hasn't made any deals." Dean's expression softened and he nodded.

"We need to figure out how I'm here." Dean stated, staring back at Bobby.


	16. Living Dead Boy

Sixteen. Living Dead Boy

Almost three months passed since Dean crawled his way out of the grave; the hand of Castiel, an angel, ripped him from the pit to do the bidding of heaven in stopping the apocalypse. Much to the Winchesters' dismay, Lilith was in the process of breaking the 66 seals in order to free Lucifer and bring on the end of the world. _Bring it on, bitch._ Dean's sentiments to the demon were nothing short of seething, and nothing about that was about to change.

Dean looked over at his brother from the driver's seat, one hand on the wheel. He was on the phone with Bobby talking about a new case. "Washington D.C." a voice came from the backseat. Dean looked in the rearview mirror and jumped, trying to regain control of his vehicle as he swerved towards a ditch.

"Geez, Cas! How about some warning before you pop in?" Dean yelled. Sam ended the phone call and turned back to look at the angel.

"I apologize. It's so hard to understand human behavior. You're so… jumpy." Castiel droned on in his monotone.

"What's that you said about Washington D.C.?" Sam asked.

"Alistair. This is our chance to capture him and use him to our advantage." Castiel explained. "He's in Washington. We don't know what he's doing there, but whatever it is, it's not good."

"Is it ever?" Dean rolled his eyes. The thought of the demon that tortured him in hell made his blood boil. If this was his chance to get revenge, he was taking it, no matter the stakes. "Did Bobby have anything?"

"Nothing, really. There were a few things he said might come up later, but nothing dire right now."

"Good… cause it looks like we're going to D.C." Dean declared. "Call Bobby and let him know." Sam nodded and began dialing the number. "Any specifics you want to let us in on?" Dean asked. When he got no response, he looked in the rearview mirror again to find it empty. "Are the words 'hello' and 'goodbye' not in the angel dictionary?" he muttered to himself.

"Hey Bobby, Cas wants us in D.C." Sam spoke.

"_What the hell for?"_ Bobby asked. _"There ain't nothin' there."_

"It's Alistair. He's either there or will be soon. We're on our way."

"_Ok. Listen, Sam… you need to watch your brother while you're there."_ Bobby began nervously.

"Why?"

"_You boys have a friend in D.C… a friend that doesn't know about Dean uprooting."_ Bobby hinted.

"Care to be less cryptic?" Sam prodded.

"_It's Jess, you idiot. She suited up again… got her badge back. She lives in D.C."_

"You think that's who Alistair's after?" Sam asked, hoping to get a different answer.

"_I dunno, kid… but if he wants Dean, it's a good place to start."_ Bobby sighed.

"Thanks, Bobby. I'll keep you updated."

"_Gotcha. I'll call Jess, make sure she's ok."_

"Let's only tell her what's absolutely necessary, ok?" Sam bargained. "Talk to you later." And with that, he ended the call.

"Tell who what?" Dean asked, curious.

"Ok, as much as I don't want to tell you this…" Sam started.

"Spit it out, Sammy."

"Jess lives in D.C." Sam blurted. "Bobby seems to think Alistair might start with her to get to you. He's calling her to check in."

"Son of a bitch." Dean seethed. He thought staying away from her since he got back would keep her safe… he was learning that nothing would. "Whatever happened to them using _you_ against me?" Dean asked his brother.

"We're only another hour out. Bobby will warn her, and we can keep an eye out. We go in, hand over Alistair, and get the hell out of dodge." Sam assured him. Dean nodded in response and sighed.

"This is gonna suck." Dean declared, looking at the clock on the radio. 4:22.

* * *

It was a no-case day, which meant paperwork, which meant actually going home at 5:00. Jessica found herself in the parking garage on the way to her car. It felt weird not riding with Reid… it just made sense for them to carpool, but today he suspiciously had "things to take care of". Jessica assumed it was to get her a birthday present for the not much of a surprise "surprise party" tonight, but instead of ruining it for him, she chose not to say anything. Poor Garcia couldn't keep a secret to save her life… at least not from a profiler. She had been able to call herself a profiler for almost a week now… she passed her certifications with flying colors.

She pulled her phone out of her purse as she turned down her street and saw she missed a call from Bobby. Rather than listen to the message, she decided to just call back. He answered after the first ring, seemingly anxious over something.

"_Jess, how are ya?"_ he asked.

"Hey Bobby… I'm fine. What's going on?"

"_Did you listen to the message?"_ he stressed.

"No… I'm about to pull into my driveway. Everything ok?"

"_Of course darlin'… everything's fine."_ He lied. _"So how are things in D.C.? There hasn't been anything out of the ordinary lately, has there?"_

"No… things are peachy here." She answered, unlocking the door. "What aren't you telling me? Is there a case here?" she opened the door and put her keys in the bowl by the door before shutting it behind her.

"_No. I mean, I don't know… maybe."_ Bobby stuttered. _"I was just checking in."_

"Ok, well, I'll let you know if anything comes up. I've got to go, Bobby. I have a friend picking me up soon for dinner."

"_Alright. Just be careful, Jess."_ Bobby pleaded.

"I will. Bye." She ended the call and continued on her way to getting ready for the night's festivities.

She heard the front door open just as she was putting the final touches on her outfit and she rushed out of her bedroom to greet Spencer in the kitchen. "Hey, are you ready to go?" she asked, rounding the corner. Her face dropped at the figure standing in front of her. A tall, older man with sunken eyes and scruff tilted his head ever so slightly at her glance and grinned devilishly. "Who the hell are you?" she asked, backing up.

"You… you are not easy to find, my dear." The man crept closer to her, his eyes going black.

"What do you want?" she trembled. Jessica hadn't come into contact with a demon since Savannah, and she had hoped she never would again.

"We have a mutual friend… I'm looking for him." He smiled. "You wouldn't happen to know where I could find him, would you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. Dean is dead and I haven't seen Sam or Bobby in months." She answered, knowing this wouldn't end well for her.

"So it's true… you really don't know?" the demon stopped and his smile grew wider.

"Know what?"

"Oh, this is just too precious." He seethed. "My guess is that he's coming here for you." His grin disappeared and he seemed to be deep in thought. Jessica took that as her time to move and she turned to sprint back down the hallway, but a deep pain in her spine soaked through the rest of her body and she found herself pinned up against the wall.

"I was just going to kill you… but now I think I'll hold on to you for a bit longer. In fact, I'd like to take you for a test drive. I think you should move over a bit and make some room for me in that pretty little meat suit of yours." He pulled her chin down to open her mouth wide and her eyes watched in horror as thick black smoke exited his lips and gulped their way down her throat. When the last of the smoke vanished, the man collapsed to the floor and the demon peeled himself off the wall and smoothed out Jessica's dress. "Much better." Her voice spoke.

* * *

"So dinner was… interesting." Spencer spoke as he parked the car. "Did you enjoy it?"

"Yeah, sure." Jessica answered, her eyes taking in where they were. "What is this place?"

"The Reserve?" he asked, confused. "I thought you always wanted to come here."

"Right." She replied, opening her door. "We should go inside then."

"Is everything ok? You seem a bit distracted." Spencer asked, worried.

"Are we… together?" she changed the question.

"What? Um… no." he answered, taken aback by the bluntness of her inquiry.

"Damn." She replied. "Would've made things more interesting." she pulled her phone out and flipped through the contacts, landing on Dean. "I have to make a phone call. Wait for me inside." She demanded. Spencer stared at her bewildered before complying and walking to the building.

"_Hello?"_ Sam answered, nervous as to where this was headed. Dean refused to answer, but was worried something was wrong.

"Well, hello there, Sam. Where's your brother? I know you're in D.C. Don't you think it's time we relived the past? I really want to just rip into his flesh one more time… you know, for old time's sake." She teased.

"_What? Dean is dead. Jess, what's going on?"_

"Oh, you and I both know that's not true. I really think you should come to The Reserve in D.C." she continued, ignoring his questions.

"_Old time's sake? Wait… how did you know he was back? You're gonna have to explain this to me, because I'm lost."_ Sam replied, getting agitated.

"Look, Sammy… tell your brother, and listen closely… if you want to see her alive again, you'll meet me. Now." Her voice got cold.

"_Alistair. You get out of her, you son of a bitch"_ Sam spat, realizing what was happening.

"Tick tock, Sam. Tick tock." She grinned and hung up. "This is going to be fun." The demon could feel Jessica pounding at him from within and smiled even bigger. "Calm down, calm down. You'll get to watch." She returned the now ringing cell phone to her purse and headed to the door of the night club.

* * *

"Reid…. Is she ok?" Penelope Garcia asked her friend as they both watched Jessica dancing rather provocatively with Morgan, who appeared rather uncomfortable with the arrangement. "She seemed completely uninterested in the fact that we were even here."

"I don't know. She was acting strange at dinner too. And when we first got here, she acted like she didn't know where we were. She made a phone call before she came in, but I don't know who she talked to." Reid answered.

"She gave me her purse. Maybe we should check it out."

"What? No. She hasn't done anything wrong and that's a complete disregard for her privacy." Reid argued.

"Yeah, well, she should be glad that Hotch already left. If he saw her acting like this, I'm fairly certain a psych evaluation would be in her immediate future." Garcia rolled her eyes. She handed Reid the purse before walking back to the rest of the group.

Reid stared at the black bag and contemplated his next move. There could be something very wrong and he could help… but on the other hand, this was Jess. She was normally the calm, easy going Bruce Banner, but when provoked, well… he was a bit terrified of her hulking out. He looked back up and watched as she shoved Morgan aside to claim a new dance partner by shoving her tongue down his throat.

That was it. He dug the phone out of her purse and scrolled through the recent call list. Not only had she called Dean when they first got to the club, but there were four missed calls from him. It didn't make sense… Dean was supposed to be dead. Reid was a bona fide genius, but there was no law of physics he could use to explain a dead man calling his best friend.

"What's going on with her?" Morgan asked, making his way over to Reid. Reid stared blankly at Morgan and looked back down at the phone, still in a stupor.

"I have to make a phone call." He responded, dazed.

"Hey, kid… what's wrong?"

"Keep an eye on her?" he asked. Morgan nodded and Reid made his way to the exit to dial the last number Jessica called.

"_Listen to me, you son of a bitch."_ A male voice seethed on the other end. He could hear the sound of the music coming from the club on the other end. So he was here? Reid quickly hung up the phone and made his way back inside.

When he couldn't spot her, his eyes scanned the large crowd for Morgan. He found his friend and worked through the crowd to get to him. When he reached Morgan's side, he was able to see Jessica still dancing, but this time with a different man; they seemed to be conversing more than dancing. "Kid, I suggest you get a hold of your girl. We're all allowed to have personal lives, but from the behavior I've been witnessing in the past thirty minutes, this is downright reckless. You vouched for her… if she wants to keep her badge, this kind of stuff has to stop." Morgan warned.

"I know, I got it." Reid agreed. "This isn't like her at all… I don't know what happened."

* * *

Dean felt severely disgusted by the fact that he was dancing with a demon in the body of a woman he deeply cared for. He had threatened to pop her spleen like a grape if Dean didn't talk with him, and of course it was in a public place. There was no way Dean would attack in public unless it was absolutely necessary… and for now, Alistair wasn't threatening anyone but Jess. If it was the last thing he ever did, he was going to make Alistair pay for all this. Jessica's body turned to face him and his eyes narrowed, knowing it wasn't her.

"Oh, come on Dean… I can't stand it when you look at me like that. Can't we just be friends?" her southern voice chimed.

"You and me? No." he scoffed. "Just tell me what you want and leave her alone."

"You know what I want." She pushed up further against him. "Come back with me downstairs and I'll leave your little girlfriend all by her lonesome."

"No." Dean shook his head, moving himself further from her body.

"Look, Dean… I like you. Really, I do. I don't go looking for just _anyone_. You're special. We had so much fun. So here's what I'm gonna do… I'll give you some face time with your girl and then we can discuss if she's worth saving. Sound good?" Alistair teased.

"Fine." Dean agreed. "Let me talk to her."

"You've got until I get bored. And remember, Dean… no tricks. I don't play around. I will kill her. Your brother's psychic crap won't work on me… I think we both know that." Alistair smirked. Dean nodded and Jessica's eyes glazed over, her knees went out beneath her and Dean caught her before she hit the floor to help her stand back up.

"Jess?" he asked, hoping it would really be her.

Her eyes fluttered up to his and her face contorted in pain. "Dean?" a single tear escaped her right eye. "It hurts… he's still here. Get it out of me." She pleaded.

"I know, Jess… I need you to fight it for just a little while longer. Sam and I are gonna get you out of this, you hear me?" he assured her, holding her close.

"My throat burns." She groaned. "I just want to sleep."

"We have a plan. You're gonna be fine, Jess." He searched her eyes for the courage he knew was there, but all he saw was defeat. He didn't know how long Alistair had her; there was no way to know the damage he had already done. "Hey, I um… I… I love you." He stuttered.

"No you don't." She countered, looking him in the eye and smiling slightly. "You just think I'm dying and want me to feel better about it." She laughed a little. "You haven't changed."

"Ok, you got me." He smiled. She always saw right through him… maybe that's what he found so intriguing. "But I _am_ gonna fix this. Trust me… I won't let him take you."

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes, hoping to lighten the mood. "Oh god… he's coming back. Dean?" her eyes begged him for help.

"Shhh… everything's gonna be ok, Jess. I'm right here." He soothed, hating what was happening right in front of his eyes. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he didn't know if she would make it out alive. This was Alistair he was dealing with… he rarely left survivors. Jessica's eyes rolled back before blacking out completely; Dean knew she was gone.

"Ok, so you got to talk to her." Her voice came back, stronger this time. "Now… let's have some fun, shall we?" he raised Jessica's hand, palm faced out and Dean shot flying backwards into the crowd. The mass of partiers scattered to leave when Alistair found Dean and continued throwing him around like a fetch toy.

"Hey, what's going on?" Morgan asked one woman as she ran past him. She was frantic and Morgan reached for his gun tucked in his back waistband. Her eyes widened when she spotted the fire arm and he raised a hand to calm her. "Hey, hey, hey… federal agent." He pointed to his badge at his waist. "Now what's happening?"

"I don't know." She breathed. "It's not normal, whatever she's doing."

"She?" Morgan asked, confused.

"Some girl is beating the hell out of a guy back there." She pointed to the main room of the club. "But she's not physically touching him." Morgan's mind began calculating the possibilities and ran past the girl to where the loud noises were coming from.

When he rounded the corner, he saw Jessica straddling a man on the floor, repeatedly punching him in the face. "Taylor!" he shouted, raising his weapon. "Taylor, tell me what's going on here."

Alistair stopped hitting Dean and turned his attention to the muscular black man at the entrance of the room. He raised Jessica's palm again and with a flick of her wrist, his gun leapt from his hand. "You?" her head tilted. "I thought I told you to get lost." Her body continued to walk to Morgan and once close enough; he could see her eyes, completely blacked out. "You should have listened." Her smile twisted and for the first time around this woman, Morgan was truly frightened.

"What's wrong with you, Jess?" he asked, stepping back.

"_Jess_ doesn't live here anymore." She laughed. Alistair used her wrist to once more send Morgan into the brick wall, rendering him unconscious. Jessica turned around and a dark-haired man in a trench coat stood in front of her. He pressed his thumb against her forehead and a bright light flashed, her screams echoing throughout the room. When the light vanished, the man was gone; all that remained was Jessica's seemingly lifeless body on the floor.


	17. Spin

Seventeen. Spin

"Jess?" Dean shouted, cursing the loud music that still reverberated within the walls. He stood and wiped the blood from his nose before running to her side. "Hey, hey, hey… I need you to wake up. Please… wake up." He pleaded with her.

Jessica could hear the voice, but she couldn't place its familiarity. She fought against her mind for control of her body; it took all of her strength to will such tiny muscles to work, but she was finally able to slowly blink her eyes open. As her vision focused, she zeroed in on the face in front of her. "That's good… look at me. Let me see your eyes."

"Dean?" she whispered hoarsely. This had to be a dream. There was no way.

"Yeah… it's me." He smiled back.

"You're dead." She pointed out, trying to sit up, the fire in her throat and chest threatening to explode.

Dean grabbed her shoulders to gently pull her forward. "Here, I'm gonna help you up, ok?" she nodded and he pulled her forward by her left arm. When she sat up in front of him, he looked her over to make sure she was ok. She had a crimson gash at the base of her hairline and some crusted blood in the corner of her mouth.

"So this is real? You're really alive?" her voice cracked. They both heard a click behind Dean and he felt a gun pushed against the back of his head.

"Don't move." Jessica recognized this voice, and she looked up to see Spencer Reid in all seriousness threatening to kill a man she was certain was already dead. "Jess, get away from him." He urged her.

"No… Reid, put the gun down. You don't understand." She argued, wrapping her arms around Dean's neck, her hands protecting his head from the gun. "Please, trust me."

"Morgan is unconscious and you're bleeding. We're taking this guy in."

"Spencer, please. I can explain all this." She pleaded. "Wait… Morgan is out? What happened to him?"

"You did." Dean muttered quietly.

"Look, Jess, I'm trying to help you out here. Get away from him… now." Reid's tone shifted.

"Or you'll what? Shoot me?" she scoffed. "Give me the gun, Spence."

"Yeah, give her the gun, Spence." Dean repeated, condescendingly.

"Shut up, Dean. You're not helping." She snapped.

"Dean?" Reid asked. "_The_ Dean? The _dead_ Dean?" Reid asked, keeping his weapon aimed at Dean's head.

"In the flesh." Dean chuckled. "Get it? Dead guy in the flesh?" Jessica glared at him one more time and his smile left. "Geez… tough crowd. Do you feds _ever_ smile?"

"Spence, come on… give me the gun and I promise I will explain everything to you. Everything." She emphasized. Reid contemplated his choices for a moment before handing over the weapon to his friend. "Thank you." She nodded and turned on the safety. "Do you think you could check on Morgan?" she asked. "I'm not sure I can move." She admitted. Reid nodded and ran to help Morgan while Jessica tried to sit up further without leaning on Dean.

"How bad is it?" he asked.

"It's not fun, if that's what you're asking." She snarled. "My throat still…" before she could finish the sentence, she suddenly coughed, splattering Dean with tiny blood droplets all over his face.

Dean blinked a few times and smeared the dampness across his face. When he looked at his hand and saw the blood, he immediately propped her forward so that she wouldn't choke; he was almost certain her lungs were slowly filling with blood. It was Alistair's favorite game. "We need to get you somewhere… else. I know someone that can fix this." He stood up, pulling her up with him.

"I need a doctor, Dean." She corrected him. "Your back-alley patch ups aren't gonna help me right now."

"He's an angel." Dean cut her off. "Doctors are gonna ask too many questions and we really don't have time for that. I don't know what all you remember, but the demon that was in you is an extremely high-order demon. As far as I know, you're his first to live… let's keep it that way?" he bargained.

Jessica stared at him in horror, for the first time wondering if she was even going to live. She turned back to look at Reid, who had coaxed Morgan into reality. She wasn't ready to say goodbye… not yet. He had become such an important part of her life; as selfish as it seemed, she wasn't ready to let that go. "Wait… I want to tell him what's going on." She wheezed.

"I highly doubt we have time for that, Jess. Let's go." She reluctantly nodded her head before spitting up another horrifying amount of blood; this time Reid was watching.

"Hey!" he shouted, running back to Dean and Jessica. "Where are you going? What… oh my god, are you ok?" he asked when he saw the wet blood coating her lips.

Jessica opened her mouth to speak, but words refused to form. Her legs buckled underneath her and she started to collapse before Dean scooped her up in his arms, giving Reid a look. "We need to get her out of here." He told Reid, who was gawking at her condition. "Now!" he yelled, snapping Reid out of his state.

"Right. The closest hospital is Washington… it's about 15 minutes away in traffic."

"No hospitals." Dean snapped. "She said she would explain this to you… there's no way to logically explain this to a hospital… wouldn't you agree?"

"Are you insane? She's coughing up blood! There's a number of serious complications she could face… t-t-there's bursting cysts, COPD, emphysema…" he trailed off, hoping the relaying of facts would help him calm down.

"Are you some sort of walking encyclopedia or something? Man, you're worse than she is." Dean scoffed. "You trust her right?" Reid nodded in agreement. "Ok, well she trusts me. You should do the same." She began coughing again and Reid let his terror show. "I can save her." Dean assured him.

"I'll pull the car around." Reid announced, suddenly letting go of all of his reservations. "Where are we going?"

"My brother is at a motel a few miles out."

"A motel? You want to take her to a motel?" Reid stared in disbelief.

"You want to argue with me or you want to save her life?" Dean demanded. "Grab Wesley Snipes over there… she did that to him; I'm not gonna let her get in trouble for all this." Reid looked back at Morgan who was attempting to stand. He ran back over to help him up and the two of them slumped their way out of the club to Jessica's car.

Dean met them at the front with Jessica still in his arms. When Reid got out of the car to help situate her in the back, Dean took charge and jumped in the driver's seat next to Morgan. "You alright?" he asked the passenger.

"Great." Morgan groaned, still holding his head. He looked up to see Dean's face and sighed. "Oh, the dude that shoved me out of the way earlier… awesome. She's whacked out of her mind… you know that, right?" Dean's eyes never left the man's face, trying to figure out what the hell he was talking about.

"Go." Reid said forcefully when he got the door closed. Dean put the car in drive and peeled out of the lot towards the motel where Sam would be waiting. He kept glancing back in the rearview mirror, listening to her gurgling sounds; she was still periodically spitting up blood and gasping for air. He also noticed the way the man with her in the back grasped her hand, knuckles white, and seemed to be talking quietly to her, smoothing out her hair.

"How's it going back there?" Dean asked.

"I don't know… she's the one that went to medical school. I understand some things, but I-I-I-I don't know! There's not an alarming amount of blood, but it's still not good; and she's having a hard time breathing." He answered, her head still propped on his shoulder. Her breathing continued to shallow, and her wheezing deepened. Reid felt her hand growing cold and he moved her to where she was able to look at him. "Hey… hold on." He spoke softly, trying to hold back the tears he felt welling up. "Everything's gonna be alright… best birthday ever, huh?" he smiled a little hoping she would follow suit, but no such luck. Her labored breathing began to slow until it ceased altogether; her eyes focused on Reid's, her hand's once tight grip suddenly grew limp. "Hurry. She's not breathing." He stated, unnaturally calm.

"What?" Morgan turned back, suddenly realizing the seriousness of the situation. "What the hell is going on?"

"I'm gonna let her explain this to you. No way in hell am I telling this story to a couple of feds." Dean mumbled, pulling out his phone. "Bobby, have you heard from Cas?" he spoke into the phone.

"_No. Isn't he with you?"_

"He found Alistair, but I haven't seen him since. I'm pulling into the motel now… I've got Jess with me." Dean swallowed hard as he put the car in park. "Bobby, it's not good."

"_You take care of her, and keep me updated."_ Bobby commanded and ended the call.

Dean got out of the car and gently lifted her out of the backseat, Reid following him close behind. "Why aren't we going to the hospital?" Morgan asked as he climbed out of the car, seeing her condition up close for the first time. He pulled out his phone to call Garcia for an ambulance and Reid stopped his arm midway.

"Don't." he begged. "He said there's something he can do for her… she believed him, we should too."

"Why? We don't know this guy, Reid. For all we know, he's done something to her." Morgan pointed out, putting the phone to his ear.

"He didn't."

"How do you know?" he scoffed back.

"Because she's wearing his ring. She's told me about him… I think we should trust him. You and I both know that what went down tonight wasn't normal. It sounds crazy, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to keep her alive. If he's it, then I'm on board." His eyes pleaded with Morgan for sympathy and he got it.

"You're right. This _is_ crazy. You're comfortable watching her get sick in some motel? Fine… I'm not." Morgan mocked, continuing his phone call. "This is Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan. We need a bus at..." Rather than listen to him describe her ailment, Reid made his way into the motel room.

"He's calling an ambulance." Reid's tired voice breathed out and Dean and a taller man around Reid's age looked up from where Jessica lay on one of the beds; her eyes were still open, but her breathing had stopped completely.

"What?" Dean asked. "I'll take care of this." He steamed, walking out of the room.

The newfound light allowed Reid to see the discolored skin starting above the neckline of her dress. "That's where all the blood is coming from… she's bleeding internally." The tall man spoke.

"Son of a bitch must've ripped some stuff up on the way out, Sam." Dean seethed, reentering the room. "I hope Cas killed him, or so help me god I'll do it."

"Would you please explain to me what's going on?" Reid asked, running both hands through his hair in frustration.

"She's dead." The man in the trench coat appeared in front of the three men; Reid's mouth hung open. Even all his training in magic couldn't help him explain how this man appeared out of nowhere.

"What?" Reid's voice trembled. "I trusted you! You said you could help her!" He snarled at Dean.

"I can't." Dean shook his head.

"So we've been on some Sunday afternoon drive when we should've been getting her to the hospital? You killed her!"

"I didn't kill her." Dean said calmly.

"She's dead... getting pissed off at us isn't going to help." The taller man declared. "We can't help her, but _he_ can." He finished, pointing at the man in the trench coat.

"I certainly can, but I'm not going to." Trench coat man declared.

"What?" Dean asked in shock. "Cas, you have to! She didn't ask for this to happen!" he yelled.

"No one asks for a demon to inhabit their being, but it happens. It's the casualties of war." Castiel answered flatly.

"Casualties of war?" Dean scoffed.

"Demon?" Reid's face dropped. "You're saying she was possessed?"

"Not now." Dean warned. "This is _your_ war; not ours." He pointed out. "You're using us like pawns when we have _nothing_ to do with this. You said you needed me. If you need me, you're gonna fix her." He glared at Castiel. "Now."

"You took my phone." A groggy Morgan announced as he entered the room, clutching his head. "And you hit me. Congratulations, you're under arrest." He pointed out.

"Not now, Morgan. Please… just shut up." Reid snapped sternly.

Castiel and Dean participated in a rather uncomfortable standoff before Castiel gave in. "I will bring her back. But you need to understand that I am breaking a number of rules. This cannot happen again; I suggest you keep your social interactions to a minimum. As long as you're in her life, she's in danger."

"Whatever, just do it." Dean complied. Castiel's gaze pierced Dean and he knew that this would really be the last time he would see her. Cas was right; he needed to find a way to gracefully exit her world.

Castiel calmly walked to the bed where Sam was sitting next to Jessica's body. Her eyes were still open and her lips were parted ever so slightly, still crusted over with blood. Sam stood up and Reid and Morgan both moved closer to get a better look at what was happening. Castiel took the seat Sam once inhabited and placed one hand over the bruising that peeked out under Jessica's dress while the other hand gently folded her eyelids closed. The hand on her chest pressed down over her heart and he inhaled deeply. As the air escaped his lips, oxygen wafted past her teeth and down her trachea until it reached her lungs; they inflated and the men listened as her breathing began to repeat itself. Castiel released his hands from her body and Reid's eyes widened at the sight of her once purpling chest now back to its original milky complexion. Her chest began rising and falling at a heightened pace and Dean shoved past Castiel to get to her before she hit full consciousness.

Jessica's eyes flashed wide open and she gasped in a full breath of air as she sat straight up. Dean caught both of her hands as they balled in fists and tried to calm her down. "Jess, Jess… it's ok, you're ok." He pulled her close and smoothed down her hair hoping to calm her rapid hysteria.

"I don't understand." Castiel began. "I brought her back, yet she seems… unsettled."

"She's terrified." Sam pointed out, aggravated at Castiel's lack of knowledge of the human psyche.

"Humans are difficult to understand." Castiel shook his head.

"Humans?" Morgan scoffed. "Would someone _please_ tell me what the hell is going on?" his tone heightened.

"Just tell me you got Alistair." Dean begged, ignoring Morgan's question and holding Jessica's trembling form as she continued to fight against him.

"We had him."

"_Had_? You _had_ him?" Sam mocked. "I told you… you should've let me go. I could've killed him without any of this happening."

"Um, excuse me?" Reid spoke up, raising one hand.

"And I told you, he's too strong. You wouldn't have had any chance." Castiel argued. "Not to mention that we need him alive."

"Excuse me?" Reid repeated, trying to get anyone's attention.

"Right. Like Alistair would even give you guys anything." Sam continued.

"We have ways to make them talk." Castiel spoke confidently. "Is there some reason you doubt us?"

"HEY!" Dean shouted, causing everyone to stop dead in their tracks and focus on Dean who had finally gained control of Jessica's flailing fists. "What do we do? How do we fix this?" he asked Castiel.

"I brought her back. What more do you want?" Castiel replied, attempting sarcasm.

"I want you to lay on some sort of angel voodoo and undo all this." Dean scoffed. "I'll stay out of her life, whatever… just please… I'm asking you for help." He begged.

"You're asking for _my_ help?" Castiel asked. He thought for a moment, looking at Reid and Morgan's confused faces and back to Jessica as she clung to Dean for safety. He knew of Dean's feelings for her… all the angels did. It was a danger to their purpose and they were all charged with circumventing his involvement with her. But he also knew that if he allowed her to perish or remain in this state, Dean would be of no service to them. "So be it." He nodded.

Castiel raised his hand to shoulder-level and placed his thumb and middle finger together. "Bye Jess." Dean whispered and kissed her hair. The sound of Castiel's snap boomed throughout the room and Dean closed his eyes. Once his eyes reopened, Dean sat in his parked Impala; Sam in the passenger seat and Castiel in the back.

"I sent everyone back. It's yesterday. The two of you are the only ones with the knowledge of it. I trust it's going to stay that way." Castiel spoke.

"Yeah, sure." Dean responded. "And thanks, Cas." He ended, clearing his throat.

"So what do we do about Alistair?" Sam asked.

"He can't find her. I made sure of it." Castiel answered.

"That's great. But what do _we_ do about him?" Sam asked again.

"We find him." Dean stated flatly, the look of determination on his face. He opened his hand to see his ring that he took off Jessica's finger. "And we turn him."


	18. Worse Case Scenario

Eighteen. Worst Case Scenario

Spencer groaned as he sat up in his bed. He glanced at the clock and watched the red numbers flash 12:00 repeatedly. _"Great. The storm knocked out the electricity."_ He thought to himself. The darkness that still lingered out his window told him it was still pretty early. So why was his phone ringing so early on a Saturday morning? He and Jessica both had a late night due to her surprise birthday party, and asking even his brain to function this early could be considered a lost cause. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood to stretch his arms high above his head before reaching for his cell phone.

"JJ?" he answered, groggily.

"_Hey, Spence. I hate to do this to you, but we've got a case."_ JJ responded sympathetically.

"How bad?"

"_Kids, Spence. It's bad."_ She replied.

"Ok. We'll be at the BAU in 30 minutes." He rubbed his eyes, coaxing them to wake up.

"_So you'll get Taylor? It would save me a phone call."_

"Yeah, I got her. See you soon." Reid hung up the phone and sighed. He trudged down the hallway to Jessica's room and lightly pushed the door open. "Hey Jess?" he spoke softly. "Jess, we have a case."

"What?" she mumbled in her sleep.

"We've got a case. JJ called. We have to be in the office in 30 minutes. I'll put on some coffee." He offered.

"Ok. Thanks." She answered, sitting up. She reached for her glasses and once she turned the lamp on and focused on his face, she smiled. "What time is it?"

"I'm not sure. The storm knocked out the electricity."

"Dr. Spencer Reid isn't sure about something?" she chuckled. "That's a first."

"Yeah, well… don't get used to it." He smiled back. "30 minutes, Jess." He tapped on the door frame and continued his walk to the kitchen.

Jessica got dressed in dark wash jeans and a white buttoned shirt before meeting Reid in the kitchen for coffee. "Mmm… smells good." She remarked.

"Here." He handed her a mug filled with the black liquid and she brought it to her lips, sipping slowly. "You ready?" he asked.

"I guess so." She shrugged.

"Ok, let's go."

* * *

"This is the Richardson family." JJ pointed to the screen where images of three bodies flashed the screen. "William, 39; Katheryn, 36, and Tyler, 8; all strangled with bags over their heads."

"Reminiscent of BTK." Reid noted.

"Except they were all stabbed post-mortem." JJ added. "All three had exactly 18 shallow stab wounds."

"Any sign of sexual assault?" Morgan asked.

"None." JJ shook her head.

"That's a lot of rage." Jessica began. "There's no way this was his first kill. There's got to be others with the same M.O."

"I'm on it." Garcia announced. "If there are others, I will find them."

"Sheriff Jodie Mills of Sioux Falls, South Dakota has officially requested our help in this investigation. They had a lead that dead ended and they're starting from square one." JJ finished.

"So Sioux Falls has their own serial killer in the making." Gideon muttered. "God help them."

"We'll discuss theories more on the jet. Grab your go bags, everyone. Wheels up in 30." Hotchner announced. The group disbanded to their respective desks to gather their things before heading down the long hallway.

"Sioux Falls. Great vacation spot." Morgan joked with Jessica along the way.

"Oh yeah. I've wanted to visit for years." She played along.

"So it's a glasses day, huh?" he motioned to her black rimmed glasses and smiled. "Hey, no ring?" Morgan pointed at her left hand. She looked down and back up at him in confusion.

"What?" she half chuckled.

"That oversized wedding band you play with constantly… where is it? You always wear it." He began to get serious.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not married; you know that. What game is this?" she asked. "I don't get it."

"No game." He answered, just as confused as she was. He chose to drop it and followed her onto the jet.

"So we've got a couple and a kid." Morgan began once everyone took their seat. "According to the file the husband was the last to die; the son first."

"When did the life of children stop being sacred?" Prentiss asked, emotion driven. "Even prisoners know you don't mess with kids."

"What were they strangled with?" Jessica asked.

"Light ligature marks. My guess would be a household item. Possibly pantyhose." Reid answered. "If it was something that light, it took them a while to die. The UnSub definitely gets off on watching the torture."

"What about the bag? Wouldn't that speed up the process?" Garcia asked, buzzing in on the computer.

"It most certainly would. But it raises the question… why both? It's overkill." Hotchner answered.

"Actually, strangulation can take anywhere from 3 to 15 minutes, depending on the techniques used and reaction and size of the victim. Panic would decrease the amount of time and it obviously takes longer to strangle a larger person. With suffocation, it takes significantly less time. If he's after torture, my guess would be that the bags were taped after death." Reid explained.

"Maybe he wants to ensure the death occurs?" JJ suggested.

"That implies that he's failed before." Jessica pointed out. "We haven't even touched the post-mortem stabbings. Because of their shallow nature, I don't think he intends them to be part of the killing ritual; certainly not to make sure they're dead. With all the blood in the pictures, it's hard to tell… but I'd like to see the bodies. Maybe there's a pattern there that will tell us something."

"Good. I'll go with you." Gideon agreed.

"Reid, I want you with JJ at the station. When we hear back from Garcia, you'll need to get started on the geographical profile. Until then, work victimology." Hotch declared. "Prentiss, Morgan and I will work the scene."

After a few hours, the team landed in Sioux Falls. A woman in police uniform greeted them when they entered the building, extending one hand out to JJ. "Sheriff Jodie Mills." She smiled.

"Jennifer Jareau, we spoke on the phone." She shook Mills' hand and stepped back. "This is Agent Hotchner, Gideon, Morgan, Prentiss, Taylor, and Dr. Reid."

"Pleasure." The Sheriff nodded. "Well, like I told you earlier, we're having to start completely over. We had a suspect in mind that we discovered to be in a coma when we finally found him."

"I'd say that rules him out." Morgan interjected.

"Right. Look, I'm gonna be frank here. We haven't had a murder in over 30 years here in Sioux Falls. We've never dealt with anything of this magnitude, so we're welcoming any help we can get." Mills said. The look on her face was one of slight embarrassment and humbleness.

"We're happy to help. We're a resource to anyone." Hotchner responded. "Where would you like for us to set up?"

"It's a pretty small office, but we do have a conference room set up for your team. How can we help _you_?" she asked.

"JJ and Reid are going to set up base here and dig through our victims' lives. Gideon and Taylor want to see the bodies… can one of your men take them?" Hotchner asked.

"Of course. I'd be happy to do it." She replied.

"The rest of us are going to the crime scene. We'll be in touch." Hotchner nodded and he walked back to their vehicle with Prentiss and Morgan.

"We'll get you set up and then I'll take you two to the morgue." Mills announced.

After Mills left with Gideon and Jessica, JJ and Reid began sifting through the files on the Richardson family. There wasn't much to marvel at, a few hidden debts on Katheryn's part, but nothing big. All that was left to do was to wait for Garcia. When Reid's phone finally rang, he put it on speaker and hoped for something that could help them out.

"Hey Garcia. You got me and JJ here." He announced.

"_Ok my lovelies… you guys were right. This certainly was not his first rodeo. There are a string of unsolved murders matching his M.O. stretching from one end of the state to the other. This guy has literally been everywhere… creeper."_ Garcia snarked.

"When you say string…" JJ asked.

"_14 to be exact."_ Garcia answered. _"I guess no one made the connection because of the distance and the fact that his kills are years apart. The first one goes back to 1977."_

"Assuming he was in his 20s when he started, he's got to be in his 50s by now." Reid pointed out.

"That's a long time to work out his anger." JJ noted.

"_The strange thing is the stab wounds. All his victims in a single occurrence have the same number of stab wounds, but no two instances have the same numbers." _

"So there's a pattern… if he goes to the trouble to make sure they all look the same when discovered, it has to mean something." Reid pondered.

"Gideon and Taylor are looking at the bodies. Maybe they'll pick up a pattern we can go with." JJ suggested. "Thanks Garcia."

"_My pleasure. I've forwarded all the info to your handhelds. Ciou!" _ Garcia chimed and ended the call.

"So he's definitely a serial. But can we be sure he's still here?" JJ asked.

"He'd want to stick around to see the circus he created. Now that it's known the FBI is here, he'll want to watch us work. He's still here." Reid confirmed.

* * *

Medical Examiner Scott Hammond pulled out the three bodies of the Richardson family to be examined by the two agents that now occupied his morgue. He uncovered the parents first and slightly bowed his head in sadness at the sight of the slaughtered young boy. Killing a child was a pure act of cowardice… no one should have to pay homage to a murdered child.

"Why would someone continue to mutilate a body after death?" Hammond asked, baffled by the concept. "I mean, it's one thing to kill a person… but to continue… I don't understand."

"This man doesn't rationalize the way we do." Jessica assured him. "What we see as taboo, he sees as no issue at all." Using a gloved hand, she ran her fingers over the wounds etched across the father's abdomen. "At first glance, all three have the same wound pattern." She noted.

"That's because they do." Hammond agreed. "What does that mean?"

"It means he has a specific message to send." Gideon answered, looking Hammond in the eye. "We just need to figure out what that message is."

"It's a devil's trap." Jessica announced.

"I'm sorry?" Hammond's confusion continued to grow by the minute.

"It's a poor replication; it wouldn't even suffice. See here how the wounds don't meet? The trap is only effective when unbroken."

"I'm sorry Taylor, but you've lost me as well." Gideon stated. "What is a devil's trap?"

"It's exactly what it says. It's a trap for demons… hunters can contain a demon for an exorcism in one of these. Can you make out the pentagram?" she answered.

"Vaguely." Gideon responded. "Pentagrams? Demons? Demon hunters? Where is this all coming from? Are you suggesting that our UnSub has a religious motivation for killing an 8 year old boy?" he scoffed.

"Why not?" Jessica asked. "Andrea Yates claimed that God convinced her to kill her children so that they would make it to Heaven."

"Sure… but that doesn't explain to me how you know all this."

Jessica was taken aback by the slight accusation. Upon raiding her own brain for the source of her knowledge, she came up empty. It scared her. "I read things." She lied. "Either we accept this explanation or we move on to another one."

"So we're looking for a man with delusions of the paranormal." Gideon sighed. "I think it's time we get back to the others." He turned his attention to Hammond and extended his hand. "Thank you for your time." He nodded. Jessica smiled and the two of them turned to leave.

* * *

"No sign of forced entry." Prentiss pointed out as she entered the front door with Morgan and Hotchner. "So they either knew the UnSub or he was able to talk his way in."

"William wasn't that small. I think it's safe to say our guy has some sort of physical agility." Morgan added. "You're not gonna take out a couple protecting their child without some sort of threatening attribute."

"He had a knife, that we're sure of." Hotchner added. "People freeze around blades. Guns they'll try to fight, but knives send another message."

"There was no sexual component. Are we even sure we're dealing with a man?" Prentiss asked.

"You think a woman did this?"

"No… I guess not." She recanted. "What was he after? It seems too methodical to be a thrill kill. "He was after the entire family. He had to know when they would all be here… the parents worked different hours. This was the one night they both had off to be with their son. That's not a coincidence. The UnSub knew that."

"He didn't bother separating them either." Hotchner spoke, pointing at the floor. "All three of them died right here. Why?"

"There had to be more than one assailant." Prentiss responded, reaching her epiphany. "Think about it. You separate them to secure dominance. If there's more than one of you to successfully overpower a family, you already have dominance. No need to separate."

"Ok, ok. So we have two at least." Morgan replied, pulling out his phone. "I just got a text from Taylor. The cuts in the bodies make out a pentagram."

"We're ready to give the profile." Hotchner stated flatly. The three agents got back in the SUV and headed back to the station.

Once the team gathered around the head of the room, Hotchner began delivering the profile to the Sioux Falls police department. "We believe you're looking for two men. The dominant is in his 50s and _is _living in Sioux Falls."

"How do you know that? He's never killed here before last week." One of the men asked.

"The geographical profile tells us that up until last week, the kills made a perfect circle around Sioux Falls. That means this is his comfort zone." Reid answered. "He is highly organized and until last week, kept his kills outside his comfort zone in order to avoid suspicion."

"So why kill here now?"

"We believe the partner didn't surface until this latest kill." Morgan explained. "The families in the other kills were separated; not the Richardson's. He wasn't confident enough to take on the parents alone. He got some help on this one."

"The patterns on the bodies post-mortem are of different anti-demonic symbols. This guy suffered a break from reality shortly before the first kill. He would have lost someone close to him; someone in his family… maybe a wife or child. He believes something paranormal took that away and that he is helping these families escape their demons." Jessica spoke.

"I don't believe it." Sheriff Mills announced, covering her mouth with her hand. "I don't know why I didn't see it earlier…"

"You know this man?" Gideon asked.

"Bobby Singer." Jessica flinched slightly at the name and Reid took notice. "He's the town drunk… sometimes he rants about demons and spirits, but I just always thought it was the alcohol." She continued. "His wife died a while back… sometime in the 70s."

"I'll get Garcia on it." Reid nodded.

"In the mean time I want Morgan and Taylor to go check him out." Hotchner ordered. "The rest of us stay here and work on finding the partner."

"I'll take you." Mills offered. "If we have to take him in, it's probably best I do it. He's more familiar with me." She continued, saddened. She grabbed her keys while Morgan and Jessica shared a look before following her out to the parking lot.

"So you know this Singer pretty well?" Morgan asked, worried about the answer.

"He's harmless." Mills answered. "He's not a friend or anything, but I've known him a while. He fits your profile, but I honestly can't see him doing anything like this."

"In our experience, there's always going to be that one person you never thought was capable of something like this. But we're all capable under the wrong circumstances." Jessica explained. "I'm sorry that doesn't help much, but it's the truth." Mills nodded in agreement and they got in the car to head to Bobby Singer's house.

Once in front of the Singer house, Jessica got out of the backseat and started the trail to the front door. Turning slightly, she saw the beginnings of what looked like a junkyard to the back of the house. Why did this place feel so familiar? "I think I'm gonna go check that out." She announced. "I'll let you know if I find anything." She stated to Morgan, who nodded and followed Mills to the front door. He watched her make her way around the corner and turned his attention back to the sheriff.

"So anything I need to know about this guy before we get started?" he asked.

"Not really. Like I said before, he's harmless. Sure he drinks a lot, but nothing ever comes of it." Mills answered.

Morgan nodded in response and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, the door swung open to reveal a gruff looking man in a red trucker hat. At the sight of the sheriff and Morgan, the man squinted his eyes and shifted his weight to one foot. "What's this?" he asked the sheriff.

"Bobby, this is Special Agent Derek Morgan with the FBI. We're here about the murders last week. I assume you've heard about them?"

"Yeah, I heard. You think I know something about that?" he half-growled back.

"Do you?" Morgan suggested.

"No." Bobby spat back. "And I don't appreciate you bringing the feds to my door to interrogate me." He redirected to Mills.

"Bobby, we just have a few questions. Please, indulge us so we can be on our way." She bargained. Bobby seemed to consider his options before stepping aside to allow them in.

"I don't have company often so I don't got nothing to offer." He barked.

"That's fine, sir. We really just want to talk." Morgan assured him. The three of them headed into what Morgan deemed to be the living room and he took a seat where he could find one, taking note of the empty liquor bottles that littered the area. He only hoped Jessica was having some luck snooping around out back.

* * *

Jessica made her way through the first pile of scrap metal, still unsure of what exactly it was she was looking for. Anything she found would be inadmissible in court without a warrant, so she kept her phone close to call Hotch as soon as she found anything. If anyone could work some bureaucratic magic, it was Hotch. She heard voices in the distance and against her better judgment decided to check it out.

After slipping around another pile of metal, she watched as a younger man made his way down the back steps into the junkyard. She took a single step back into a piece of metal. The sound alone was enough to let the neighbors know she was there, not to mention the man _in_ the junkyard. The voices stopped and she held her breath for what was to come. The click of a gun cocking caught her attention and she eased around a corner to come face to face with the gun barrel.

"Federal agent, don't shoot." She flattened her palms in the air and continued to stare at the gun in shock.

"Jess?" the man asked, putting the gun in the waistband of his jeans. "What are you doing here?" he inquired, pushing hair back out of his face. He was tall and definitely twice her size… she knew there was no way she could take him, and drawing her weapon would only prompt him to do the same.

"Did you just call me Jess?" she asked, hoping she just misheard him.

"That _is_ your name." he answered. "Why are you here?" he asked again.

"Do I know you?" she asked, brushing specs of dirt off her shirt.

"Taylor?" she heard Morgan call from around front.

"Oh thank god…" she muttered under her breath. "Back here!" she yelled, not taking her eyes off the man in front of her. Now she knew she could take him.

"You're kidding right?" the man scoffed. She whipped out her gun as he spoke, giving him his answer. "I guess not." He gulped. "What's going on?"

"Can you explain to me how you know Mr. Singer?" she quipped, waiting for Morgan to find her.

"What the hell, Jess? It's me… Sam?" he searched her eyes for any recognition. He came up dry. Her cold, calculating movements told him this couldn't end well; and he couldn't understand for a single second why she wouldn't remember him… remember this place.

"Taylor… everything ok here?" Morgan asked, drawing his weapon to match her stance as he walked onto the scene.

"Good. Where's Mills?" she asked, not looking back.

"Inside. Still talking to Singer… I just thought I would check on you, but I see you found someone to talk to." He quipped.

"Look, my name is Sam. I'm Bobby's nephew… can we just put the guns away and talk?" Sam asked, raising his hands. "Just talk?" he repeated.

"Ok. Let's talk. What do you have to say?" Morgan asked, not moving his weapon.

"Not to you." Sam answered sternly. "I talk to her and only her." He nodded at Jessica.

"Not a chance in hell." Morgan shot him down. "You're not in much of a position to negotiate." He pointed out.

"It's ok." Jessica spoke up. "He has a gun… waistband." She focused in on Sam. "Give up the gun and you and I can talk. Sound good?" she offered.

"Fine. Take it." Jessica kept her weapon raised as she walked towards him, removing the piece from his person and sliding it backwards to Morgan. "We good?" Sam asked.

"We're good." She answered. "I got this Morgan… he wants to talk so we're gonna talk."

"You sure? I can stay…" he assured her, tucking Sam's gun into his belt.

"I'm sure. Go back inside."

"Alright… be careful." He demanded.

"I'm not going to do anything stupid. Everything's gonna be fine." Sam groaned.

"I wasn't talking to her." Morgan snapped. "You better watch yourself." He nodded to Jessica and headed back to the front of the house. Once Sam was sure he was gone, he lowered his hands and sighed.

Sam knew his brother was somewhere in the junkyard, he just didn't know where. He had to find a way to avoid him seeing her, and it was only a matter of time before that went down in flames. He could see Dean's shadow from around one of Bobby's old cars. "So… how long have you been in Sioux Falls?" he voiced a little louder. "Crazy town, huh?" He hoped Dean would get the message and back off… now was certainly not the time for their dysfunctional reunion.

"Right…" Jessica responded, confused by his small talk. "Let's just talk about Bobby, ok?" she asked, putting her gun back in the holster. "I'm trusting you to be smart." She warned.

"Fine. Let's walk." He saw Dean come out from around the corner and once she looked down, Sam waved him away. Dean understood instantly and turned back around to the other side of the car. "What do you want to know?" he asked when she looked back up at him.

"How long has he lived in Sioux Falls?" she asked.

"I don't know… for as long as I've known him." Sam answered.

"And where do you live?" she inquired, causing him to slightly panic. He didn't really have a home.

"California." He lied. "I graduated from Stanford and just never left." He smiled. It was definitely odd talking to her about his life like he didn't know her, but now wasn't the time to worry about why that was.

"Stanford?" her eyes widened. "Good school… what did you study?"

"I was pre-law." He answered. "I just decided not to carry on with it… so what's all this about?"

"There was a family murdered last week and we've discovered some things that lead us to believe Bobby may have something to do with it."

"Like what?" he asked.

"What do you know about his beliefs in the supernatural?" she asked, stopping their walk. His reaction would tell her if he was in on the murders or not.

"Supernatural? You mean like demons and angels and stuff?" he tried his hardest not to let on his own knowledge while at the same time trying not to make Bobby sound guilty. "I mean, he believes they exist… but a lot of people do. Don't you?"

"Sure. But my beliefs are irrelevant here. What do you think?" she answered.

"I think you should talk to Bobby. He's my uncle and I'm not comfortable with this." Jessica nodded in response and pointed to the house.

"After you." She gestured, knowing at that moment she had found the submissive partner. There was no sexual component because the UnSubs were related. They found their guys… now they just had to put the case together. She was hoping sooner rather than later so she could get back home and back to her life.


	19. Old Yellow Bricks

Nineteen. Old Yellow Bricks

Jessica followed Sam into the house, all the while wondering how this man knew who she was. Something wasn't right… first there was an extreme blocked memory from the previous evening; she had hoped she had just been so drunk she couldn't remember… but that was becoming less and less of a possibility. Then there was the ring comments that Morgan made… she was certain he was messing with her up until now; and now this guy. He was the one thing that didn't seem familiar to her, yet he knew who she was. How? She made her decision… the case could wait. She had to know.

She pulled Sam back into the laundry room and quietly shut the door. "What are you doing?" he asked her. "I thought you wanted to talk to Bobby."

"I want to know how you know me." She demanded. "You called me by my name before I ever identified myself. You had me at gunpoint and didn't pull the trigger. Do we know each other?"

"I can't believe you don't remember." He sighed, running his hands through his hair.

"Remember what?"

"What about Dean? Did you forget him too?" Sam scoffed.

"Hey, probably not wise to piss off an FBI agent with a gun." She warned. "And no… I don't know a Dean."

"Yes you do! That's just it!" Sam replied, exasperated. "I honestly don't know how to explain this to you…"

"You were pre-law right? Convince me that you know me and I'll see what I can do for you. That shouldn't be so hard, right?" she challenged him.

"You should really talk to my brother." He suggested. "He knows you better than I do."

"That's too bad, because I'm talking to you." She snapped.

"Fine." He sighed. "You're name is Dr. Jessica Taylor. You're a psychiatrist; that much I know, but you work for the FBI. I first met you in Savannah, which is where you're from, when you were looking for your sister's murderer. You guys caught my brother, Dean. You let him go and we found the shifter that killed Beth. You killed it." He watched her face flat-line and he stopped. "Any of this ringing a bell?"

"No." she whispered, not sure if she was lying or not.

"Ok, what about Bobby?" he reasoned. "He saved your life when you were a kid. You and Kendall and Beth were attacked by a spirit of some whack-job. Do you remember that?" Jessica looked down at her hands and froze in fear. She felt her eyes welling up and her mouth dropped slightly. "You do, don't you?" Sam asked. She quickly sniffled up her emotions and returned to her cold stature. "You know what? It's probably best if you don't."

She eyed her surroundings and decided that this may have been a bad idea. "Let's just get back to the case at hand." She said, opening the door again. "After you." She motioned. Sam rolled his eyes and made his way to the room where Bobby sat with Morgan and Mills.

"Bobby, this is my partner Dr. Taylor." Morgan started. "She ran into your nephew out back." Bobby eyed Jessica trying to hide his happiness over the fact that she was on this case. He would be off the suspect list in no time.

"Dr. Taylor." He nodded in acknowledgement.

"Mr. Singer, can you tell me if it's customary for your nephew to carry a gun?" she asked.

"I'm sorry?"

"Possession of an unauthorized weapon is a pretty serious offense." She continued. "Imagine how much worse it could get when he pulls the aforementioned gun on a federal agent." She paused to make sure he was catching her point. "Now, I'm willing to overlook it, but you've got to help us out here."

"I'm telling you, I had nothing to do with that family getting killed." Bobby stressed. "How many ways I gotta say it?" Jessica's phone began to ring and she excused herself from the room.

"Bobby, we just want to get to the bottom of all this. The FBI sent in profilers to look for the murderer. You fit the profile." Mills stated sympathetically. "Now, I want to believe you had nothing to do with this, but it's going to work out better for you if you cooperate."

"Cooperate how?" Sam asked.

"We'd like the two of you to come back down to the station to make a formal statement." Morgan explained. "Can either of you account for your whereabouts last Thursday night?" he asked.

"I wasn't even in town. I just got here last night." Sam spoke up.

"I normally drink at home, but as luck would have it, I was at Pete's Thursday night." Bobby beamed. "You can go ask the bartender."

"We will." Morgan assured him. "Can you provide flight records or receipts that prove you weren't in Sioux Falls?" he asked Sam.

"Uh… yeah. I think I have diner receipts in the car." He shrugged.

"Morgan…" Jessica motioned, walking back into the room.

"Excuse me." Morgan stepped out of the room with Jessica, Sam's eyes watching them as they went.

"They have alibis?" she asked him once out of sight.

"Yeah… we just need to get them checked."

"Yeah we do… and fast." She sighed. "Another family is missing."

* * *

"So this time they _took _a family?" Gideon asked. "It doesn't fit… why take them?"

"Are we even sure it's the same UnSub?" Prentiss asked.

"They left a note at the scene taking credit for the murders. It's too specific to not be real." JJ assured them. "He knew about the patterns left on the bodies. Taylor was right… a devil's trap?"

"We need to figure out if it's Singer and his nephew and quick… we can't legally hold them for much longer." Hotchner pointed out.

"Morgan and Taylor are checking alibis now." Mills spoke. "I know Singer fits, but I don't think he did it. We talked about his wife and he seems adjusted enough. He has his own religious beliefs, but he talks with a genuine care for the human race… I just don't think he's capable of something like this."

* * *

Morgan kept one hand on the steering wheel while sneaking glances at Jessica as she looked out the passenger window. She was unusually quiet; not that she was normally talkative. It kind of worried him. "So we've got our UnSubs, huh?" he asked, hoping to get some sort of reaction from her.

"I don't think so." She shook her head. "I can't shake this feeling that we're looking in the wrong place." She added. "What if the geological profile was wrong? What if our guy doesn't even live here? What if we're destroying Singer's life for no reason?" she asked. "The nephew already checked out. The waitress remembered him distinctively."

"And if the bar checks out, we have to let Singer go." Morgan concluded.

"Right." She nodded. "It just feels like we're wasting time."

"What's up, Taylor? You know this is the way we have to handle things and you've never had a problem with it before."

"Some creep has been murdering families; _children_; for over 20 years. I just want this guy's head." She seethed. "If he keeps to his pattern, he's not going to kill again for _years._ How are we supposed to find him?"

"Hey… we'll find him." He assured her. She forced a small smile and continued her gaze out the window.

"Yeah… ok, thanks Morgan." Hotchner closed his phone and looked at Mills. "The alibi checks; the bartender had video footage. You can let them go." He nodded.

"So we're starting all over again." Gideon pointed out. "What did we get wrong?"

"Guys, look at the letter that he left at the last scene." Reid spoke up, his speech speeding up. "It says _I have the suits you're looking for. Soon they will be relieved of their burdens. We shall not be moved._" He finished reading the bottom paragraph. "We shall not be moved… it's a song. I-I-In the song, Mavis Staple says 'we're fighting for our children'. It's a simple song really, mostly repetitive, but the words are powerful. Our UnSub is a personal cause offender… we profiled the loss of a loved one and we were right, but it's not a spouse… it's a child." He reasoned.

"But I still don't understand the first two sentences." Prentiss questioned. "The suits… he's obviously referring to his victims, but it's a strange metaphor."

"Meat suits." A gruff voice answered from the head of the room. The team turned to see Mills standing with Bobby and Sam. "It's what demons call the person they possess."

"Bobby… you said you knew nothing about this." Mills whispered.

"No, I said I didn't do it."

"What aren't you telling us?" Hotchner's eyes narrowed.

"I didn't know who did it until you just read that note." He started. "Randy Shaw."

"Shaw?" Mills asked. "What makes you say that?"

"He plays that damn song all the time. His boy got real sick around the same time my wife died. We tried to help each other out, but he was convinced Carter wasn't sick… he was possessed. I tried to talk him out of it, but nothing worked. Eventually Millie left him with their oldest son and he went on downhill."

"So he thinks he's performing exorcisms?" Reid asked. "He's relieving them of the demons?"

"By killing a human being." Prentiss finished his thought. "But the strangulation and the bags…" she trailed off.

"We can figure out the why later." Hotchner declared. "Right now we need to figure out where he has them. The letter implies that the family is still alive."

"That I don't know." Bobby replied.

"We shall not be moved..." Reid murmured to himself. "Like a tree planted… like a tree that's planted by the water!" he exclaimed. "The Big Sioux River. He's at the falls."

"Shaw has a cabin out there." Mills added.

"I'll call Morgan. He and Taylor can meet us there." Hotchner nodded. "Let's go."

Once at the cabin said to belong to Randy Shaw, Hotch gave the signal to Reid to quietly turn the knob at the front door. The team of agents and Mills silently entered the cabin and searched every room, a resounding "Clear!" coming from every corner.

"Hotch!" Prentiss yelled from upstairs, sending Hotchner in a frenzy to get to her. When he rounded the corner, he saw the aftermath of Shaw's rage on what he thought killed his son all those years ago. The parents were restrained, bags over their heads and blood oozing from their torsos, while the boy lay on the floor a few feet from his mother.

He knelt down beside the boy and pressed two fingers to his pulse point, saying a silent thank you when he felt a light thud press up against him. It was small, but it was there. "We need a medic!" He shouted downstairs.

* * *

Jessica and Morgan made their way to the base of the river, guns drawn as they looked for Shaw. Jessica nodded past the trees to signal to Morgan where she was headed. He gave her the look of approval and she took off in the opposite direction. In the distance she saw what looked to be a body in the leaves; she picked up the pace to get to the body of a man that looked to be in his early 30s. At first glance, she guessed he had been there a few hours, the smell acting as her guide.

"I've got a body." She spoke into her shoulder radio connected to her vest. "Male, late 20s, early 30s."

"_Alden Shaw."_ Hotchner answered her. _"The partner… Shaw's oldest son."_

"The demon…" a male voice startled her. She turned around and faced a tear-stained Randy Shaw, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Sir, I need you to show me your hands." She demanded, gun poised.

"It left the little one and took my son. My Alden." He continued shakily.

"Shaw, I want to help you… really, I do. But I _need_ to see your hands." She repeated. He looked her dead in the eye and removed his hands from his pockets, revealing his own small handgun. "Shaw, put down the gun."

"I only wanted to save them. I wanted to save the children, but the parents… they wouldn't let me! I only wanted to fight for their children." He ranted, circling the gun in the air wildly.

"And you did… you saved them." Jessica replied calmly, playing into his delusions. "They were only kids… you did what you could. But the demons… they're all gone now. Let me help you." She pleaded, inching towards him.

"No." he spat, aiming his gun directly at her. "I'm not crazy. All you want to do is detain me so they can stick a needle in my arm. Not gonna happen." He shouted. "The only way I'm getting out of here is in a body bag." He stated. "And you're going with me." His eyes darkened and Jessica cringed, wondering if she could take the shot. Before she had to decide, she heard the loud pop of gunfire and watched as Shaw fell to the ground, Morgan standing a few feet behind him.

"That's twice now I've saved your ass." He smirked, keeping his gun aimed at Shaw's body.

"Yeah, well, remind me to thank you later." She quipped back, walking to where he stood. They both stared down into the dead eyes of the man they had been hunting and Jessica shook her head. "I still don't understand why."

"Would you really want to?" Morgan asked. She looked back at him knowing he was right and shook her head before walking back toward the cabin to find the rest of the team. "Taylor, wait." he called after her. She turned back around and he put his gun away. "You want to tell me what's been bothering you?"

"I told you... the case." she answered. "But it's over now."

"Yeah, it is." he agreed. "But I don't think that's what this is about." he challenged.

Jessica watched Morgan's face, hoping for a smile to prove he was being lighthearted, but it never came. She sighed and tightened her hair in it's pony tail. "If you knew something happened in your past, but you couldn't remember what it was... would you want to know?" she asked.

"It depends." he answered. "If there was a chance it would change me as a person; affect me negatively... no." he closed in the space between them and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "But if there's a chance that it would help me understand my life and how I got here, then hell yeah I would want to know." he explained. "What's going on?"

"It's just... this place..." she started. "We almost ruined that man's life by accusing him of murder." she pointed out.

"Hey hey hey... that's the job." he stopped her.

"I know, I know... and it normally wouldn't bother me this much..." she trailed off.

"I get it... we're all running on no sleep. Everyone had a late night last night and we can all get messed up over things.. but you can't let it affect you in the field."

"Then there's that... I can't remember a damn thing that happened last night. Maybe I drank too much or something, but I've never blacked out before."

"Last night? You mean the party? You didn't drink at all." he corrected her. "Look, I don't know what this is about, but I think I know you well enough now to say that you've got a good head on your shoulders. You should trust yourself... if you think something bigger is going on here, trust your gut." he placed a hand on her stomach. "It knows what it's talking about."

"Thanks." Jessica smiled. "Now let's just go home." she stressed.

"Yes." he agreed. "But we really need to talk about payment... if I'm gonna be gunning people down for you on a regular basis, I'm gonna need something in return." he smirked, eliciting Jessica's laugh. They walked back to meet the rest of the team, Morgan teasing her all the way.

* * *

Bobby sat in his kitchen with Sam and Dean while trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Dean knew Jessica had been within feet of him, and according to Sam had no memory of any of them. "I just don't understand." He shook his head and took a swig from his beer bottle. "You think Cas wiped her memory when he brought her back?"

"Brought her back?" Bobby asked. Dean sighed knowing he had said too much. Castiel told them not to talk to anyone about what happened, but it was Bobby… he had to.

"Sam and I were in D.C. last night. Alistair had Jess and… she didn't make it." He answered grimly. "It alerted a lot of feds and we were basically screwed in every direction." He continued. "Cas fixed it all… sent everyone back. He said she wouldn't remember what happened. He didn't say she wouldn't remember _us_."

"Maybe it's for the best." Sam spoke up. "I talked to her and she wasn't buying it. Maybe Cas was right… it's better if she's not in our way."

"In your way?" Bobby asked. "That girl was never in your way boy and you know it." He lectured. "If anything, she's been a big help to you. She kept your asses out of the fire when dumbass here got arrested. How was that in your way?"

"Sam thinks she's a distraction to me." Dean rolled his eyes.

"Damn right she is." Bobby agreed. "But that don't change nothing."

The three men sat in silence, pondering the situation when a knock sounded at the door. "What now?" Bobby grumbled. He looked out the window and saw a police car and scoffed. "You boys stay here." He demanded. When he got to the door, he sighed once more before opening it, his heart lifting at the sight. There stood Jessica, a small smile dancing over her lips. "Can I help you?" he asked calmly.

"I asked my partner… if there was something about your past that you knew you couldn't remember, but you knew it would change everything… would you want to know?" she began.

"And what did he say?"

"Nothing." She answered. "But I have to know." She nodded. "Your nephew said he knew me. I'll be honest; I thought he was crazy. But then he told me things that he couldn't possibly know. And then this." She pulled out her phone and flipped through the contacts. "I can't explain how I have your phone number in my contacts list. I have a Sam and Dean Winchester too." She looked at Bobby with utter confusion. "Why can't I remember?" she pleaded.

"Jess…" Bobby pulled her to him in a hug and she held on tight. "Won't they be looking for you?" he asked when she pulled back.

"Eventually. We leave tomorrow morning." She nodded.

"There's someone you need to see." Bobby motioned toward the kitchen. She took the suggestion and walked herself to the room where Sam and Dean sat at the table; Dean was chuckling at something Sam said, but Sam had noticed her.

"Uh, Dean…" he spoke softly. Dean took another sip from his beer and turned to see the one person he never thought he would see again standing right in front of him.

"Jess…" he said, standing up. She walked towards him and stopped just short of his chair at the table.

"I can't remember what happened last night." She said. "But I remember your face… dreams mostly." She trailed off.

"They weren't dreams." Dean assured her.

"Is that the ring?" she asked, pointing to his hand. "Morgan mentioned something about a ring this morning and I thought he was just screwing with me… but I have this stupid tan line around my finger like I wore a ring and I can't for the life of me remember wearing one." She rambled.

"Jess…" Dean cut her off. "Here." He pulled the ring off and looked down at her hand to ask her permission. He lifted her fingertips from the back of the chair and when she didn't stop him, he continued to slip the ring back onto her finger.

Jessica looked down at the ring and with her thumb, twirled it around her finger. With that one little movement, memories began to flood back into her brain. Synapses connected and sent electrical impulses down her spine; her eyes pricked over with salty liquid. "I need to sit down." She breathed. She pulled back the chair she was holding onto and sat down, staring into space. "You're dead." She stated flatly, giving Dean déjà vu.

"Was." He corrected.

"When did you…"

"Three months ago." He answered, knowing the question. She nodded her head and continued to stare at nothing.

"Are you ok?" she asked quietly, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"Yeah, I'm ok." He pressed his lips together and nodded.

Jessica sat quietly for a few more seconds before she felt the sudden urge to run. "Well, I've got to go. My team is back at the hotel and they'll be… I need to go." She declared, standing up. Sam stood up with her and Dean's eyes widened in disappointment. "I um… it was good to see you." She nodded, unable to make eye contact with either of them. She pulled the ring off and sat it down on the table. "Bye." She turned around to leave the room and met Bobby in the hallway. "I'm sorry you got involved in our case." She apologized. "Thanks for… thanks." She smiled briefly and found her way to the door.

Dean listened to the car start up and drive off. He took another drink and sat back at the table. After a few moments of collecting his thoughts, he slammed both fists down onto the table causing Sam to flinch. "So that's it, huh?" Bobby asked, entering the room.

"Yeah. That's it." Dean answered.

"You stupid son of a bitch." Bobby spat. "Give her time to adjust… she'll come around."

"No… Cas was right. I can't be looking out for her and keep my head at the same time. It's better if we leave it the way it is."

"But the way it is is some cooked up blackout for her. How is that fair?" Bobby argued.

"I didn't do it to her." Dean snapped back. "What do you want from me?"

"You've changed, Dean. There's no denying it… hell got to you. And who could blame you?" Bobby stated sympathetically. "I can't even imagine… and Jess? If what I think happened just happened, she remembers being taken over by one of hell's number one demons. She's shaken… kinda like you are. You know how that feels, don't you?" he asked before walking out the back door to the salvage yard, Sam following suit.

Dean ran a hand over his face and sighed. Bobby was right… he knew what she was feeling and she shouldn't have to go through it alone. If they were leaving tomorrow, he had one shot.


	20. And The World Keeps Spinning

Twenty. And The World Keeps Spinning

Spencer lay in the quiet hotel room that he shared with Jessica, not watching the TV he had turned on waiting for her to get back. She took this case to heart and Morgan made some implications that there was something bigger at play. He heard the click in the door signaling that she had entered in the card-key and waited for the door to open. Light from the hallway flooded into the room and he watched her tired form saunter over to the bed next to his.

"Hey…" he sat up, hoping to gain her attention. She smiled slightly at his greeting and dug in her bag for sleep clothes. "Where'd you go?" he asked.

"Um…" she started, pulling out a pair of grey sweats and her blue Savannah State t-shirt out of her bag. "I went to Singer's house." The glow of the TV hit his confused expression and she continued her explanation. "I wanted to tell him it was all over… that I was sorry. For, you know… accusing him of being a serial killer and all." She breathed sarcastically.

"Oh. I'm sure he appreciated it." He responded nervously.

"Yeah. He did." She assured him. "Hey, I was wondering if it was ok with you for me to have my brother and his wife come stay with us in the next few weeks… if not, I can always go visit them." She bargained.

"Of course." He complied. "It's your place too… you don't have to ask my permission."

"Thanks." She smiled. "I'm going to go get changed." He watched her walk into the bathroom and close the door.

"So, this one really got to you huh?" he voiced louder so she could hear him behind the closed door.

"What?" she asked, opening the bathroom and taking a seat Indian-style on her bed.

"The case…"

"Oh… I mean, sure. Don't they all get to you too?" she asked.

"No." he answered. "But I'm weird." He smiled.

Jessica swallowed her pride and decided to open up to him. After all, he was her best friend… surely he would understand. "Spence…" she began with all seriousness. "Have you ever lost a memory?"

"Technically, there's no logical way to decipher that." He pointed out. "If you lose the memory, then it never existed and one would have no way of knowing the memory was lost."

"Right." She sighed. "Ok, what if you remembered it?" she rephrased.

"I take it you remembered something." He sat up, meeting her eye level.

"Yeah." Her eyes got sad and he took note. "Singer and his nephew… I know them."

"What? Why didn't you say something?" he asked. "That's a conflict of interest, Jess."

"I know that… I'm not stupid." She snapped. "I didn't know I knew them until" – she was cut off by a knock at the door. "You expecting someone?" she asked. Spencer shook his head in response and stood up to answer the door. "No, it's ok… I got it." Jessica held up a hand. He shrugged and lay back down on the bed, turning off the TV.

Jessica looked through the peephole and her heart picked up pace. Opening the door, Dean stood against the door frame, his expression telling her he was beating himself up something awful.

"Hi." She said, breaking the silence. He noticed she still wouldn't look him in the eye and rocked back on his heels.

"So… can we talk?" he asked hopefully.

"How'd you know I was here?" she asked.

"Bobby called the sheriff. Said he wanted to thank you... she gave up the name of the hotel. The rest was easy."

"So you know you're on a floor filled with federal agents, right?"

"Yeah well… I think it's worth the risk. So can I come in?" he replied. She stared at him for a moment before stepping aside so that he could enter the room. He followed her into the bedroom area and saw a man on one of the beds; he sat up as soon as he saw Dean. "Who's this?" Dean asked, pointing to the man.

"Spencer, Dean. Dean, Spencer." Jessica pointed back and forth, seemingly uninterested.

"Wait… Dean? _The_ Dean? The _dead _Dean?" Spencer stuttered.

"In the fle… wait, we've done this already." Dean shook his head, exasperated.

"No… _you_ did this already." She corrected him, digging through the mini-fridge. "Whiskey?" she offered, holding out a tiny bottle.

"Since when do you drink hard liquor?" Dean asked, confused.

"Since now." She answered, downing the whole bottle in one easy swallow before reaching for another. Spencer just stared at her, eyes wide wondering if he should do something.

"That stuff is expensive, Jess." Reid squeaked.

"Relax." She quipped before turning back to Dean. "It's on the U.S. government." She shrugged and handed him the bottle.

"Thanks…" he accepted the bottle and took a quick swig of the harsh liquid. "You sure you want him here?" he pointed at Reid. "Shit's about to get real weird." He warned.

"He stays." Jessica responded without hesitation. Spencer breathed a sigh of relief but worried about what the supposed dead guy in his room wanted.

"Jess, what's going on here?" Reid asked hesitantly.

"I can't explain that to you, Spence because even _I_ don't understand." She answered, still staring Dean down. She folded her arms across her chest and tapped her fingers along her forearm. "Dean?"

"Ok, Jess… I'm sorry for what happened… and I know what you're feeling." He started.

"You do?" she scoffed. "Dean, you took my memories from me. I went through today with chunks taken out of my life, and you come at me with 'oops'?"

"I didn't take anything from you." He defended himself. "If it had been up to me, you would have left with us. We got Alistair out, but the damage had already been done… I didn't know what else to do." He explained. "I didn't want to lose you." His voice got sad and his eyes pleaded with her for contact.

"Lose me?" she laughed. "That's rich…"

"Oooook… I think I'm going to cut this conversation short." Spencer interrupted, standing from his bed. "You're obviously making her angry and we're supposed to be getting some sleep before our flight home. I think you need to leave."

"I think you need to make me." Dean challenged him. "This kid?" he asked Jessica. "Really?"

"Dean, don't." she snapped. Her voice was filled with ice, yet all the tension he was holding seemed to just melt away. "Don't." she repeated, quieter.

"Ok… if you want someone to blame, I can take that." Dean nodded. "Whenever you decide you're ready to talk, you've got my number." He turned around to exit the room and once his hand hit the door handle, he got what he was waiting for.

"Wait." She stalled. Sure she was mad, but she couldn't take this out on him… she believed him. This wasn't his choice. He turned back around and she took the few steps it took to stand in front of him; her arms wrapped around his neck and she buried her face into his shoulder. Shocked at the embrace, Dean melded his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him, grateful for the contact.

"I listened to all of your messages." He whispered. He tightened his grip, afraid that if he let go she would be gone forever.

"I missed you… I started losing hope." She sniffled into his jacket. "But I can't do this." She added, pulling back and looking him in the eyes for the first time.

"What?"

"It's just… neither of us are what you would deem stable, Dean." She began. "My job takes me everywhere, your job takes you everywhere… oh, and you're still a wanted man." She added playfully. "I can still help you out with that. I've got an analyst that's pretty much magic." She smiled thinking of Garcia. "But us as a thing? It would never work." She reasoned. "We aren't functional."

"Excuse me, but I think we can both agree that we functioned just fine. Fantastic, even. Incredible." He smirked. She backhanded his chest, returning the smile. Dean sighed. She was right; he'd be lying if he said he expected anything less. And he would be remiss if he didn't think that Spencer had something to do with it. "I know." He agreed. "I didn't mean to insult him earlier." He pointed to the main area of the room. "You should know, you mean a lot to him. Last night… he wouldn't leave your side even for a minute. The way he looked at you… he cares." He assured her.

"I know." She nodded; truth is she knew Spencer had a thing for her… and she was slowly starting to reciprocate. But what Dean was describing sounded a lot like love, and she wasn't sure she was ready for that. "If you need anything…" she paused and he nodded, knowing.

"You too." He replied. She hugged him again before letting their lips touch slightly to say goodbye, and with that, she watched the first man she ever loved walk away. She stood in the hallway until she couldn't see him anymore and turned back into the room.

Spencer had sat back down on his bed, his head between his knees from exhaustion when he heard her footsteps back to her bed. He looked up and noticed the slight twitch in the soft area beside her nose that he knew was the tell-tell sign of the tears to come. "Jess." He started.

"Can we just… talk at home? I promise I'll talk, but right now I just want to sleep." She stressed, pulling back the covers.

"Yeah, sure… tomorrow." He agreed and rolled back over, watching her chest rise and fall rhythmically until he too fell asleep.

* * *

Dean opened his eyes and squinted from the brightness of the sun. Looking to his left he saw his brother in the driver's seat of the Impala and ran one strong calloused hand over his face. He straightened out his legs to stretch before turning up the music in the car, nodding his head along to the beat.

"So you gonna tell me what happened now, or do you need another nap to avoid the question?" Sam asked.

"Sam, please." Dean began. "This is probably the best song to ever grace this planet and you want to talk about Jess?" he scoffed. "Priorities."

"Whatever, Dean." Dean smirked at the rise he got out of his brother, but inwardly he knew what he was feeling. Saying goodbye was probably the hardest thing he had to do, and of course being Dean, there was no way he was going to let it show to her or Sam. It was necessary, but it was hard.

Once the sounds of ACDC faded from the stereo, Sam eyed his brother once more. He knew this was eating at Dean… it was too bad the only therapist they knew was the one he was trying to get over. "Come on Dean… talk to me." He voiced, hopeful. "I'm your brother. I know when you're not ok." He reasoned. "You didn't want to talk about hell and I quit pushing. But you can't bottle up everything, man."

Dean sighed and rolled his eyes. The only thing better than hunting with his brother was hunting alone. At lease then he didn't have to deal with all the sharing and caring moments that they seemed to have far too many of. "Fine." He cleared his throat. "She said she thinks it's best if we part ways." He laid it all out.

"And you don't agree." Sam added.

"No, she's right. I mean, we both knew this wasn't a thing… but I liked her and it sucks." He explained, as simple as possible.

"You _liked _her? It _sucks_?" Sam scoffed. "What is this… homeroom? Your prom date ditch you?" he laughed. "Dean, you _loved _her and she asked you to walk away from it."

"Bitch." Dean glared.

"Jerk." Sam mumbled back. "Look, I know you don't like to get close to people because they get hurt, blah blah blah, but are you sure that's the real reason? I know I wasn't her biggest fan, but you were happy. You deserve to be happy."

"See, that's the difference between you and me." Dean declared. "There's no way I can walk away from this life, Sam. There's too much at stake."

"But where is it written that you have to be the one to save the world all the time?" Sam asked incredulously.

"What are you saying? That I should quit? Leave all the ass-kicking to you? I don't think so." Dean laughed.

"Come on, Dean." Sam reasoned. "I still have a reason to fight. You have a reason not to."

"I'm not quitting, Sam. Jess and I are done, I'm fine, can we just move on to the next case?" he whined.

Sam sighed, knowing this was an argument he wasn't going to win. "We're going to Texas. Bobby thinks there's a nest of vamps in Huntsville… and that you're an idiot." He smiled at the last part and turned back up the radio as he drove off down the highway.

* * *

It was Friday and Derek Morgan walked down the hallway to the familiar office that he wished he could spend more time in. Opening the door, he smiled when he saw today's latest bright-colored outfit; her yellow skirt twirled when she turned to face him. "Afternoon, Baby Girl." He quipped, smirking as his eyes met her green stiletto heels. "So I was thinking…"

"Hmm?" Penelope Garcia hummed as she reached across her desk for a file.

"You, me, a room full of people… maybe some music and dancing?"

"You want to go clubbing?" she asked, filling in the blanks.

"Yes! You're going to dance with me right?" he begged. "I need to get my groove thang on." He lifted his arms and swung his hips as he spoke.

"Ooooh…" she smiled, watching her friend sway. "I guess I could… you know, if no one else comes along." She teased.

"That's my girl." He pointed at her. "I'll catch up with you later." He grabbed the door to leave and turned back to her. "Later Garcia." He winked. After walking back to the bullpen area, he sat down at his desk to wrap up the last of his paperwork. Looking up, he saw Jessica working diligently at her desk doing the same. Her lips were pursed and her eyes squinted, showing him her dedication to her write-ups. She tapped her nails on the desktop erratically and he noticed her still empty ring finger and he began to wonder what was going on in her world. The case they took over the weekend really got to her and she hadn't been the same all week. She came in tired, circles under her eyes in a constant competition with Reid's.

"Hey Taylor." He mused, sitting back in his chair when she looked up at him. "What you got going on a Friday night?" he asked, twirling his chair from side to side waiting for her answer.

"Nothing." She answered, looking back down at her work.

"Nothing?" he tisked. "Come on, Taylor… a fine young woman such as yourself and you've got _nothing_ on a Friday night?"

"I don't have time for this, Morgan. I'd like to finish my reports and go home." She sighed, still not looking up.

"Ok." He nodded, leaning in closer over his desk. "I was just gonna suggest you come out with us tonight. Penelope and I are gonna hit the clubs… thought you'd want to come along." He leaned back and started up his reports again.

Jessica's nail tapping got slower and slower as she contemplated the offer. Morgan seemed to take her demeanor as a 'no'… and why wouldn't he? She had been wrapped so tight lately, snapping at anyone and everyone that got in her way. Maybe this was the therapy she needed. "Will there be drinking?" she asked sheepishly. Morgan looked back up with her and smiled.

"Hell yeah, there will be drinking." He nodded enthusiastically. It was like he was 15 years old again or something, but he was glad she accepted the offer. Going out would be good… it always helped him after a tough case.

Reid watched the two talk from the corner of his eye and his chest throbbed in pain. Why wouldn't she talk to him? Things had been so strange between them since their encounter with Dean. She promised to explain everything to him, and she said she did… but he knew she was still hiding something from him. He had an eidetic memory and she left out several things that he overheard her talk over with Dean in the hotel room. He thought back to that night when they got home from the case. She had sat on the couch immediately and forced a smile up at him… she must have known he was going to press the issue.

"_So… Dean." She started off, clearing her throat. "I uh… I met Dean in Savannah when I was working Beth's case. I needed a friend, and he was there." She explained. Reid sat down beside her to continue listening. "Our investigation hit a wall. I'm sure you've heard about it… every superior I've had since knows about it. I assaulted our suspect and he walked." Reid nodded, confirming that he already knew._

"_I know it's illegal, but I talked to Dean about the case. He convinced me he could help… it turns out he could. We found Beth's killer and I pulled the trigger in self-defense. Case closed. After that, I just… I guess I… well… you know the rest." She explained._

"_But you never told anyone about him?" he asked. She shook her head and he sighed._

"_Dean and I stayed in touch. His job is extremely dangerous… like I told you, someone was after him and eventually got to him. I thought he was dead." She paused and looked back down at her hands. "I was wrong."_

"_What does he do?" Reid asked._

"_I can't." she shook her head again, looking back at him with wide eyes. He couldn't understand her need to protect him._

"_Jess… he lied to you. He told you he was dead." He reasoned with her. "Why are you so quick to defend him?" he asked softly. _

"_He did it to protect me." She began. "They knew about me… the people that were after him. He knew I was looking into getting back into the bureau and with him out of the picture, he knew I would take the leap and move. They wouldn't be able to find me anymore."_

_Reid nodded, but he wasn't sure if it was in understanding or appeasement. Something wasn't right about her story, but before he could think any further, she did it. _

_She smiled at him. That smile that brightened even his darkest days. That smile that he never wanted to fade. She smiled at him and all his doubt washed away. Gideon was right… he loved her. He didn't know if that was a good thing or not._

Reid snapped out of his memory and looked back at her desk. She was gone. He checked his clock to see it was 3:45 meaning she probably finished her report and went home. Morgan's equally empty desk confirmed his suspicions and he shut down his computer. He had finished earlier that morning, but decided to stick around. Now that he saw he had no reason to, it was time for him to leave. He grabbed his coat and messenger bag and headed out the door to the elevators.

Jessica pulled out a bottle of water from the refrigerator and let the door slowly close itself. Before she could turn away, she noticed the pictures that wallpapered the door. There were the ones of her family and of course Spencer and his mother, but most were of her and Spencer together. The one that stood out the most was of the two of them at Garcia's birthday bash. It was shortly after the Varuck case and she still had the bruising on her chin. She remembered him convincing her to take the photo… he had told her it was barely noticeable, and that Garcia needed a picture of the two of them for her blog. They were cheek to cheek, both smiles stretching further than she thought possible. That was a good day.

"That one's my favorite." She heard Spencer's voice from behind her. She didn't even know he had come home. He was still working when she left.

"Yeah… mine too." She answered, turning to face him. She unscrewed the cap on the water and took a sip before smiling at her friend. "So… how was your day?" she asked.

"Same as yours." He nodded. "Friday night movie?" he asked.

"Actually, Morgan asked me to go out with him tonight. He and Garcia are going to a club… you should come with us." She shrugged, seemingly uninterested in the evening's plans.

"That's ok… not really my scene." He smiled back awkwardly. "But you go and have fun." He nodded a final time and walked off down the hallway to his study. Jessica stood in front of the fridge a while longer and looked at more of the photos. Another one caught her attention, making her heart beat deeper and faster at the sight. The team had gone to a restaurant while on a case and it must have been a candid shot while she was teaching him to use the chopsticks. She was looking down at her hands covering his and smiling big, but he was staring right at her… his smile full of adoration. How did she not notice that before?

Her mind flashed back to that last night with Dean. The one that got erased. She remembered how she was dying, and her last thoughts were with Reid. _"I'm not ready to leave him."_ She remembered thinking. And then there's Dean's comment to her… _the way he looked at you_. When did all this happen? Was she ready for all of this? Spencer was someone she could find at least some sort of stability with… their jobs held the same schedule, they were already living together, but would it ruin their friendship?

She shook the thoughts from her mind. It wasn't something she should worry about. She casually walked to his study where she found him writing another letter to his mother; she leaned against the doorframe and watched how his brow furrowed when he concentrated, he would occasionally chew on his bottom lip and tap his pen when thinking of the next thing to say.

"Hey, I think a movie sounds great." She spoke up without thinking.

"What?" he asked looking up.

"Friday night movie… I'm in." she smiled a little back at him.

"Yeah?" he asked excitedly.

"Yeah." She nodded back, her smile getting bigger. "On one condition." She paused and his expressions went blank. "Wine." She narrowed her eyes and pursed out her lips as she nodded. "Lots and lots of wine."

Spencer's smile returned at her words and he found himself laughing. "Ok. Wine it is." He agreed. Movie night with his best friend… he was happy. The best part was that he knew she would be cancelling her night with the self-proclaimed lady's man in order to spend time with him. This time, the nerd beat out the jock and all he could do was smile.


	21. Sirens

Twenty-one. Sirens

"_Start at the beginning. Tell me what happened."_

Jessica flashed back to that Friday night. Everything was fine… everything was great. She had a bottle of wine, a good movie, and her best friend. Too bad it went horribly wrong.

_Jessica sat down on the couch next to Spencer with a bowl of popcorn. He held up the bottle of wine and she smiled. She desperately needed a drink. She'd been so high strung since her encounter with Dean. He poured her a glass and the two of them clinked their glasses together before she gulped hers down. Spencer hit the play button on the DVD remote and they kicked back to enjoy Al Pacino in 88 Minutes. _

_After making several cracks at the expense of the movie's inaccuracies, Jessica downed her fourth glass of wine. She was starting to feel the liquid courage coursing through her veins and all she could hear was Dean's voice telling her how much Spencer cared for her. She saw the images of Spencer helping Morgan up after her ordeal with Alistair. And she remembered thinking that she couldn't leave him. _

_Then it happened. At the pinnacle turn of the plotline in the movie, she snapped Spencer out of his daze and forced her lips over his. He complied at first, grabbing her face on either side with both hands to deepen the kiss. She was blown away… kissing Dean was one thing, but this was in its own category. She pulled back from him and rested her forehead on his. "So that's what I've been missing." She breathed. _

_Spencer slowly opened his eyes while she spoke. He stuttered something about transference before she rolled her eyes and grabbed his shoulders. "Shut up, Spence." She cut him off, reconnecting their earlier embrace. He pulled her in closer to him and almost abruptly pushed her back. _

"_I can't do this." He said. "It's unprofessional… i-i-it's against the rules. Not to mention, you're drunk." He pointed out._

"_Come on, Spence… don't you think I know how you feel about me?" she slurred. He was right… she was drunk. "I think…" she moved her hands lower to lightly skim his body until they landed on his thighs. "I think this is exactly what you want."_

"_And how do you feel?" he gulped. She lightly pressed her lips to his again, but refused to answer the question. "Jess… you say you know how I feel. Then you have to know why I can't do this." He started. She sat back up and looked on with confusion. "I mean… I want to… I do." He stressed. "But not like this. And not for one night." He explained. "Are you really ready for something like that? Something serious?"_

_His questions were sobering. "No." she whispered, moving her hands back to her lap. "I uh… sorry." She grabbed her glass and walked it to the kitchen before she made her way down the hallway to her room, falling on the bed and staring at the wall until she was able to fall asleep._

After telling the story to Bridget, she listened to the silence that filled the other end. "B?" she questioned.

"_Wow." _She responded. _"Jess, _do_ you have feelings for him?"_

"Of course I do… but he's right. I can't be what he wants. He wants strings…" she sighed.

"_And you don't? Honey, you said that you and Dean were through."_

"We are."

"_And I understand you want some time to respect what you guys had… but I don't understand the problem. I mean, yeah… it's gonna be awkward between the two of you for a little while. And maybe getting your own place wouldn't be such a bad idea… but if you think there's a chance that you could be with him, I think you should try."_

"But in the mean time? We can't work together. We cloud each other's judgment. It's only a matter of time before we get each other hurt, or someone else." Jessica reasoned.

"_So what are you gonna do?"_

"I don't know…" she sighed. "There's a posting for the field office in Indianapolis. Maybe it's time I request the transfer. That was the plan all along, right? Get back in, wait 6 months, and be able to be back with my family."

"_You could."_ Bridget agreed. _"Look, Ken and I support you no matter what you do. But I think you owe it to yourself to at least talk to him."_

"I gotta go." Jessica interrupted. "I'll talk to you later. Love you."

"_Be smart, Jess. Love you too."_

Jessica sighed and grabbed her keys. Maybe a good drive would help her make up her mind.

* * *

Penelope Garcia left her comfy office and walked into the bullpen area mid-afternoon Monday, ignoring Morgan's flirting along the way. She marched straight up to her target at the desk directly in front of Derek's and placed a hand on her hip waiting for her own personal UnSub to look up.

"Yes, Garcia?" Jessica asked, noticing her impatient foot tapping and the harsh look that washed over her face.

"We need to talk." Her tone grew cold. Morgan chuckled and muttered something about being in trouble, but both women ignored him.

"Can it wait?" Jessica asked. "I've got more paperwork than I know what to do with." She pointed to the stack of bureau folders on her desk.

"Nope. Sorry." Garcia shook her head.

"Ok…" Jessica responded, standing up. She looked over to Reid's empty chair and her heart nearly fell out of her chest. Nothing was going to be the same; they both knew it. She followed Garcia back to her office and once inside, Penelope shut the door.

"You requested for a transfer." Garcia started off. Jessica sighed and shook her head.

"My private files are supposed to be private, Garcia."

"No, screw that." She glared back. "You want to leave?" she asked, this time her voice sounded sad.

"It's personal." Jessica answered quietly.

"You've been acting strange since you guys got back from Sioux Falls last week. Did something happen?" Her brown eyes pleaded for an explanation. "You're family now Jess… you just want to leave that?"

"No. My _family_ is in Indiana." Jessica corrected her. "All I wanted was to get back in the bureau. I waited my obligatory 6 months before attaining my status and now I want to go home." Her words seemed to have shocked Garcia, but she was too far gone to stop now. "Why is that a bad thing?"

Garcia successfully held back the tears while listening to Jessica talk. That was really all this was to her… a job? They were merely coworkers, nothing more? "Oh." Was all she could manage to say.

"I've already talked to Strauss. She's going to talk to Hotch today… but if everything pans out, I'll be out by next week." Jessica explained. "They've wanted another field team out in Indianapolis anyway. She's thinking of making me a unit chief out there."

"Sounds like everything's working out perfect for you." Penelope all but whispered. "I do have one question though." Jessica stared at her waiting. "What about Reid?"

"He was fine before I got here. He'll be fine now." She answered.

"Does he know?"

"No." Jessica shook her head. "It won't matter anyway. Strauss will force Hotch to sign off on it, so I'm guessing I'll be packing soon." She felt awful. Truth is, she loved Garcia and all her new friends… but things just couldn't go back to normal for her. It was time to go. "I've really got to get back to work."

Garcia just nodded and watched Jessica leave her office. It was only then that she allowed the tears to fall. Something wasn't right with the situation and it didn't take a profiler to figure that out, but Garcia was stuck. Talking to someone else about an agent's personal files was prohibited, but she knew she needed to talk to Morgan. He always knew what to do.

* * *

Reid sat back down with his fifth cup of coffee for the day. He hadn't really been drinking it. He would take a few sips and then let it sit until it got cold so that he would have an excuse to get another cup. Any excuse to get up and walk around… anything to keep him from being tempted to look in her direction. Once in his seat, he noticed her absence along with Morgan's intense gaze towards Hotch's closed office. Upon further look, the rest of the bullpen area was watching the office as well.

"What's going on?" Reid asked Prentiss.

"Strauss." Morgan spoke up. "The Ice Queen herself just pulled Taylor into Hotch's office."

"This can't be good." Prentiss added sympathetically.

"Wait…" Garcia announced as she entered the arena. "Strauss is in there?" she asked. Morgan noticed her worried look and became concerned.

"Yeah… what's wrong, Penelope?" he asked.

"I was just coming to talk to you about it." She whispered, taking a seat at his desk. "We're losing a team member." She added.

"What?" he scoffed.

"They're coming out." Prentiss pointed out. As soon as Strauss surfaced into view, everyone went back to looking over files and typing away, looking busy as to not incur her wrath. "Agents Hotchner, Taylor." She nodded in a farewell. "Thank you for your time." She looked out over the rest of the team and adjusted her suit jacket before making her way back to the glass doors. "Agent Jareau." She nodded as she passed JJ on her way out. JJ's look of confusion only grew when she saw everyone else staring up at Hotch's once again closed office.

"What did Strauss want?" she asked Reid once she made it to his desk.

"No idea." He answered flatly, still staring at Jessica's empty chair. What was she doing in a meeting with Hotch and Strauss? Rather than wait around, he stood up and grabbed his things to leave the office for the day. Morgan noticed his friend rushing to the door and stood to follow him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… where are you going?" he asked, catching Reid at the elevators.

"I'm not feeling well." He lied.

"Ok, what's going on with you and Taylor? The two of you have been acting real strange for about a week now. Now I hear she's put in for a transfer? What happened?" Morgan asked, following Reid into the elevator.

"A transfer?" Reid squeaked.

"You didn't know?"

"No." Reid sighed. "Um… Friday night… after she cancelled with you, we decided to watch a movie. It was good because things had been weird between us since she… since we got back from Sioux Falls."

"Ok… that sounds like a good thing. So why is she meeting with Strauss?" Morgan asked.

"We opened a bottle of wine. I had a glass… she had the rest." He continued. "Then out of nowhere… she kissed me."

"And?" Morgan asked. "Come on kid… everyone knows you've got a thing for her. How is that possibly a bad thing?"

"She was drunk, Morgan!" Reid exclaimed. "She ran into her ex before we left Sioux Falls and she's been on edge ever since. She wasn't thinking straight and she's in no position to…"

"Yeah, yeah… I got you Reid." Morgan agreed, placing a hand on Reid's shoulder. "So now she wants to leave."

"It's her decision." Reid said quietly. "When she makes up her mind, there's no talking her out of it."

* * *

Aaron Hotchner walked his boss out of his office and cringed with anger. Once she was gone, he closed the door again and turned back to face the source of his problem. "Can you please explain to me why I was just handed transfer papers from out of this office?" he steamed.

"Hotch, I spent my time here. Some things have come up and it's better if I'm with my family." She lied. She knew he'd be able to tell, but the point was mute. "I'm sorry I went over your head. I was only following the protocol listed for the opening. I met with her and she seemed enthusiastic about having me head up a new team." She explained.

"I'm your superior, Taylor. If you had a problem, you should have come to me." He sat down behind his desk and held eye contact. "We could have worked something out. Now it's completely out of my hands."

"I understand." She nodded.

"That's what you wanted…" he began piecing it together. "You want to leave the BAU?"

"Yes."

"Why?" he asked, concerned.

"My reasons are my own." She answered. "Agent Hotchner, I appreciate your position and respect your authority." She stood and held out her hand. "I have enjoyed working for you these past 6 months and will always look back on my time here fondly." When he refused to shake her hand, she shakily put hers back to her side. "Ok, then." She nodded. "I've been requested in Indianapolis in three days. I should go pack." She walked to the door and turned the knob. "Goodbye, Hotch." She looked back before exiting the office.

She could feel all eyes on her as she walked around the bullpen and out the glass doors. As much as she wanted to say goodbye to everyone, she found it easier to say nothing at all. Hotch would explain it to them if Garcia hadn't already. No. She knew she could never explain it adequately enough and all she wanted to do was get out.

* * *

Spencer finished folding his letter when he heard the front door open. Rather than wait for her to make it any further into the house, he decided to walk to the end of the hallway, hands stuffed in his pockets nervously. There she was, fidgeting with her keys, her back to him. "What are you doing?" he asked, startling her. She dropped the keys and hit her head on the door-side table on her way to pick them up. "You ok?" he chuckled, walking to help her back up.

"Yeah." She answered, holding her head. "I'm good." He pulled her up by the hand and she smiled. "Thanks."

"So what happened today?" he asked, holding his breath.

"Um… Strauss had a meeting with Hotch and I." she explained.

"What about?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"I'm getting my own field team in Indianapolis." She answered quietly. He looked down and scratched the back of his neck and she sighed. "Look, Spence."

"No, it's cool." He cut her off. "I mean, congratulations." He offered. "When do you leave?"

"Hotch and Strauss signed the papers today and she wants me to meet the new team in three days. I booked a flight for tomorrow morning and I'll stay with Kendall until I can find a place." She answered.

"Why?" his tone showed his true feelings and his eyes grew sad. She walked past him to avoid the guilt, but he got courageous and pulled her back. "Hey… talk to me." He pleaded. "Is this about the other night?"

"Oh please, Reid." She snarled. "This has nothing to do with you. I told you when you first started helping me that I eventually wanted to be back in Indiana to be closer to my brother. Did you forget that?"

"So that's it, then? After all I did… after all Hotch did… you're just going to leave?"

"Don't romanticize this." She warned. "I didn't ask for either of you to pull any strings. I appreciate what you both did to get me here, but I'm under no obligation to stay." She could see the hurt on his face and mentally kicked herself. All she had done all day was hurt people. "I have to go pack." She stated softly, looking at the hardwood floors. He released her arm and she walked down the hallway to her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

He knew she wouldn't have much to pack. She really only brought necessities with her when she moved. All her things were in storage in Indiana or at her brother's house. As much as he wanted to fight this and keep her here, he already felt defeated. First his dad left, now her. He felt betrayed and angry, and nothing was going to make that better. Rather than wait around for her to finish, he grabbed his keys and headed out the door. He couldn't wait around for the goodbye and neither could she.


	22. Matilda

Twenty-two. Matilda

Seventeen months later.

Listening to the dings as the elevator went up to the third floor, it was all she could do to keep the tears at bay. She hadn't planned on being back in this building. Ever. She never thought she would need them again. She was wrong. The doors slid open and she kept her mind focused on the sound her heels made as they clicked along the tile floors. She knew they would see. They would all see her vulnerability and she didn't know how to deal with it.

When she got to the open office door, she entered the room knowing he wouldn't look up. Closing the door behind her, she cleared her throat and grasped the file folder she held tightly.

"Yes?" he asked, looking up. When he saw it was her, his already less than cheerful voice grew even colder than she thought possible. "Agent Taylor." He acknowledged her. "What can I do for you?"

"I wish I were here under better circumstances." She lied. She never wanted to be here. "But I need your help." She handed him the file and he opened it, reading briefly and then looked back at her with widened eyes.

"How are you dealing?" he asked.

"I'm ok for now. But as you can see, I'm in no position to be leading this investigation." She pointed to the file, all the while thinking _"how do you think?"_

"I'll get the team together for a briefing." He nodded.

"Your involvement is off the books. This investigation technically goes through my office. I understand if you can't release all of your team. I'm just asking for a few." She added.

"I understand."

"Hotch." She paused, still in shock from the whole situation. "I'd like to be a part of this. I just can't be the one calling the shots."

Aaron Hotchner looked at his former employee that now sat across from him in his office. Everything about her seemed to have changed from her appearance to her demeanor. This woman sitting in front of him wasn't the reserved woman he once knew. She exerted more confidence than her timid counterpart and right now she showed him more emotion than she ever had in her six months on his team. "I'll let you know our decision." He spoke. He stood from his chair and left the office, calling his team into the conference room.

"I know we just wrapped a case and we're all tired." He began once the last of them took their seat. "But I've just been presented with a missing four year old. This case is optional, but I have already decided that I will go. I'll need Dave to stay behind in case we have other cases in my absence." He looked at the newest member of his team who nodded in response. "I've asked that the agent in charge do the briefing as I've only seen the file a few minutes ago. I expect that we can all keep ourselves in check." He added, narrowing in on Reid. He looked out the window of the conference room and nodded for her to enter.

Jessica Taylor swallowed her pride and tightened the belt around her navy trench coat dress. Again, she focused on the sound of her shoes hitting the floor as she walked into the conference room. She could feel all the eyes on her and she nervously pushed a strand of her now crimson colored hair behind her ear. "Hi." She tried to smile. When no one smiled back, she cleared her throat. "Ok." She put on her best professional attitude and tried to send her mind elsewhere.

"At 3:40 yesterday afternoon, four year old Matilda was taken from an Indianapolis park after her mother was brutally assaulted." She passed a stack of pictures of the little girl and pictures of the mother's wounds taken at the hospital around the table for each team member to take one. "My office received notice of the incident and we have decided to ask for the BAU's assistance on this. You would run point and have all the faculties of my office at your disposal." She explained.

"Is there a reason your office isn't taking this case?" an older man with salt and pepper hair asked her. It was a face she didn't recognize. "It's my understanding that you have a profiler _in_ Indianapolis."

"This is Agent David Rossi. He stepped in after Gideon left." Hotch explained.

"Gideon left?" she asked, puzzled. She briefly made eye contact with Reid and immediately looked back at Rossi. "Well, Agent Rossi, I am a profiler, but under the circumstances of this particular case I have decided to recuse myself from leading this investigation. With that being said, my team has decided to follow suit and ask for your assistance."

"You recused yourself?" Morgan asked. "Any particular reason?"

Jessica looked back down at the picture of the little girl and gave a small smile at the sight of her face, still successfully holding back the tears. "Matilda Taylor is my niece." She answered, looking back up at the agents in front of her. She was surprised to find sympathy wash over them all.

"Given the seriousness of this case, I've decided to take two of you with me. I will need one of you for the field and another to run base. Taylor has also asked that she be involved." Hotch spoke up.

"I'm for going Taylor, but this is too close to you." Morgan stated.

"Which is why I took myself down a notch and let someone else lead. This is my family we're talking about. I promised my brother I would bring her home… let me keep that promise." She paused, feeling one of her tears stinging behind her eye. "Please." She pleaded.

"No one is more motivated to solve this than her." Reid spoke up. "I say she's in." he looked her in the eye and nodded.

"Here are my terms." Hotch declared. "Under no circumstance do you go anywhere without a member of _my_ team. Under no circumstance to you speak to any suspect we have in custody without a member of _my_ team. You're giving us the lead… I expect you'll adhere to that."

"Yes sir." She complied.

"Good." He looked back out at his team. "I'll let you decide who else goes. We meet on the jet in 15."

* * *

"Thanks for coming." Jessica offered a small smile to her former boss. They were the first on the jet with ten minutes left for the others to decide giving them some time to talk. "It means a lot."

"Can I ask you something?" he asked, understanding her state of mind. She nodded so he continued. "Why did you really leave the BAU?"

"I told you… I wanted to be closer to my family." She responded.

"And that's it?" he pried. "No other reason?"

"No." she shook her head. "That's it." She knew he would be able to spot her lies, but there was nothing she could do about it at the moment. She sat back against the seat and crossed her legs. "I know what I did was pretty shitty. And I understand that you guys are all pretty steamed… I just hope that you can separate your feelings about me from this case. Please don't punish her for my mistakes." Her eyes welled up and she closed them, wiping the few tears that escaped away. When she opened them, she saw a third person on the jet and tried to smile again.

"Morgan." She breathed out and matched the smile he gave her. "I hoped you would come."

"Girl, you know I got you." He quipped as he walked toward his seat. He held out his fist and she gladly bumped it with her own.

"I've missed that." She chuckled. "My guys aren't as hip as you."

"Well, I _am_ one of a kind." He winked before his expression got serious. "Everyone wanted to come. You should know that." He added.

"Who else is coming?" Hotch asked.

"That would be me." Reid announced as he boarded the plane. Morgan gave him a look of confusion and watched as he sat down beside Hotch.

"Garcia's helping us out on this one too." Morgan added, still watching Reid.

"Shall we get started?" Hotch asked the group. "Good. Taylor, why don't you bring us up to speed? The file can only tell us so much." All eyes moved to Jessica and she took a deep breath.

"I got the case yesterday. They found an unidentified woman at one of our public parks. She had been badly beaten… she was unconscious and lost quite a bit of blood. We just thought we were dealing with an attempted murder case."

"But why was the FBI called in? That sounds like something the local police can handle." Morgan asked.

"We were investigating a string of rapes in the area; that park in particular. We were called in because there was a suspicion it was the same guy. But once she was at the hospital, they deduced that she wasn't raped… but she _was_ pregnant. We still thought it might be our guy… maybe he was interrupted or something, so we stayed on the case. Two of my men went to the hospital to interview her when she woke up and all she would say was my name and identification number."

"She remembered your ID number?" Reid asked, astonished.

"My whole family has it memorized in case anything ever happens… even the kids." She nodded. "I got to the hospital and saw it was Bridget. I called my brother to make sure he had the kids and he only had James. He said Bridget took Tillie to the park for a 4:00 birthday party. She must've gone early."

"Did anyone see them?" Hotch asked.

"Witnesses say they saw Bridget and Matilda together, but no one saw them separate." She explained. "They just moved to Indianapolis after Bridget found out she was pregnant again. Kendall got a new coaching job at the University of Indianapolis and they upgraded. I just can't believe this happened… we see this stuff all the time, but somehow I still never thought it would happen to my family. At least not again." She got quiet thinking about her sister.

"This isn't going to be easy… I know you know that." Hotch declared. "Are you sure you can handle this?"

"Yes." She nodded. "I lost my head with Beth. I won't let that happen again." She set her sights on Reid and swallowed hard. "I won't get distracted."

"So what do we have to work with?" Morgan asked.

"Well, because this is technically my case, the government won't be paying for your assistance. I probably should have mentioned that sooner, but I didn't think you would come." She smiled a little at the smile growing on Hotch's face. "What?" she asked.

"You're breaking protocol? Does Strauss know about any of this?" he asked, still smirking.

"No… she doesn't."

"Way to go Jess." Morgan chimed.

"I'm more than willing to take the fall for any of you. This was my idea and if it comes down to it, she'll know that." She assured them. "I'm hoping we can find her soon, so hopefully sleeping arrangements won't be necessary, but my brother and I both have opened up our homes to you. I have an extra room and a pull-out couch and Kendall has a guest room. But like I said, I hope we won't need it."

"I hate to ask, but has anyone formally interviewed Kendall?" Hotch asked, looking up the name in the file. Jessica knew that the question would come up. Most of these cases involve the spouse.

"I refused to interview him myself, but a detective with IPD did so without the knowledge of our relation. He checked out just like I knew he would. He took my nephew to football practice with him at the university." She explained.

"We'll need to talk to your brother and his wife ourselves." Hotch nodded.

"Understood." She agreed. "I have four other agents that will be at your disposal. They all know that you're taking point on this… you shouldn't have any problems with them." She paused and ran her hand through her hair. "Look… I know I'm not the most popular person with the BAU. It means a lot to me that you guys would help."

"I think it goes without saying that you owe us an explanation." Morgan agreed. "But that doesn't mean we don't have your back."

"Thanks." She nodded. "And I know the statistics. I know our chances aren't good with this type of abduction. I only ask that if anything happens… you let me tell my family."

"Of course." Hotch nodded. After a few moments of silence, he noticed her staring at her hands that she kept firm against her lap. "Why don't you tell us about Matilda? It might help you to reflect."

Jessica knew he was right. It was something she always suggested… talk about the good in the midst of all the bad. She looked at the smiling picture of Matilda that was taken last month and ran a finger over the face in the photo. "We call her Tillie." She smiled, eyes gleaming. "She just turned four last month. Bridget is a professional photographer. She took this picture at Tillie's birthday party."

"She's a beautiful girl." Morgan added.

"She absolutely adores her brother. James is six… he's more protective of her than anyone else in the family." She laughed. "She's a daddy's girl, so she certainly knows how to play him. Just last week she convinced him that she needed a peanut butter M&M cookie to the point where he drove her to a bakery outside of town to find one." She smiled. "She loves to sing and dance. Anytime she and James visit me, that's what we do. They have their favorite song…" she sang the Guns N Roses tune in her head and closed her eyes. _"Don't do this… don't do this."_ She repeated to herself. It was too late. She brought her hand to her mouth as the tears erupted.

"I'm sorry…" she moaned. "I can't… I just can't talk about her… not when I know the chances that she's already..." She cried, unable to even voice the word _dead_. Reid placed a hand over the one left sitting in her lap and she grabbed it, grateful for the touch.

"Are you sure you want to be a part of this?" he asked softly.

"Yes." She answered, cutting her sobs short. "I can handle myself in the field. I just… I can't talk about her. Not until we find her." He nodded in response and she released his hand. "I worked up a profile of the Indy Rapist." She changed the subject, drying her tears instantly. "Before all this happened… but I'm still not convinced that this is him. Nothing about him fits."

"What do you have?" Hotch asked.

"White male, mid-to-late forties. He's a power reassurance rapist; he had the women tell him how good he was repeatedly. His attacks are _not_ random. We believe he is seeking out and stalking his victims; he knows too much about them to not know their routines… we just can't figure out the _how_. Victimology is all over the place. I can't find a single thing in common between any of the victims other than the fact that they're women." She answered, her voice picking up speed.

"How many?" Reid inquired.

"Four." She answered. "I mean, that we know of… I think we all know that not all rapes are reported." She paused. "Another reason we didn't think this was our guy is because he doesn't physically harm his victims… other than the actual rape."

"It doesn't sound like the same UnSub." Morgan agreed. "Unless your guy is intelligent and he's trying to throw you off… but your profile suggests otherwise."

"I know… I just didn't want to accept that we had nothing to go on."

"What about Bridget? Was she able to tell you anything?" Hotch asked.

"She didn't see anything. She said that she was hit from behind… she never saw a face and he never said anything to her." She answered, shaking her head. "But I have thought of the implications here."

"What?" Reid asked.

"Either this truly was random, which would make this extremely messy… extremely disorganized." She began.

"That doesn't seem to be the case." Hotch thought out-loud.

"Or Matilda was the intended target. This guy knew where they would be and waited until they were out of sight from the general public. That took dedication. That took planning." She continued.

"That took stalking." Morgan finished. Jessica looked back down at the smiling child in the photo and balled her fists. Whoever this was would pay.


	23. In One Ear

Twenty-three. In One Ear

Sam rolled over in the hard, uncomfortable motel bed. Oh how he missed the days at Stanford. He had a home, he had a girl, and most importantly he had a soft mattress. Groaning, he sat up and stretched his arms high over his head before looking over at the bed next to him. There was Dean, sprawled out and drooling; he was oblivious to the outside world. He stood up and gently padded his feet to the bathroom to relieve himself.

After brushing his teeth, he grabbed his phone and checked for cell reception… none. God how he hated Ohio… he was in a completely useless area. Why the supernatural decided to come here he would never understand. He was just glad that they were able to take care of the wendingo so they could get the hell out of there. He could hear his brother stirring and threw a pair of jeans at his sleeping form.

"Get up and get dressed. I want to get out of here." Sam ordered. Begrudgingly, Dean complied and much to Sam's satisfaction, they were soon on the road.

"So why the problem with small town, Ohio?" Dean smirked as he drove along the back road to the freeway.

"Shut up, Dean." Sam warned. "I'm sorry I enjoy civilization." He scoffed.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Dean sighed, pulling out his phone. "Ooh! Cell reception!" he announced as if he were a kid in a candy store. "I have a voicemail… awesome." He rolled his eyes while holding the phone to his ear to listen.

Sam watched his brother listen to the message and took notice of the smile on his face quickly fading. His grip on the steering wheel tightened; his knuckles turned white. One look at the dashboard told him that they were accelerating a lot faster than they should and Sam began to worry. "What is it?" he asked, gripping the pocket in the car door.

"Shh…" Dean swatted at his brother, beginning a new phone call.

"_Hello?"_ a male voice answered after a few rings.

"Kendall? It's Dean."

"_Oh thank god… I was starting to think you weren't going to call."_

"We were in an area with no reception." Dean explained.

"_Oh… well, I'm not sure if you remember me or not…"_

"What happened?" Dean cut him off. "Is Jess ok?" he asked the question that had been on his mind. After listening to the message, all he saw were flashes of her dead body, and it killed him.

"_What? No… she's fine… good."_ He answered. _"I called because I need your help."_

* * *

After landing in Indianapolis, Jessica drove the three men to her house to pick up her mother and nephew and gave them a chance to drop off their things. She barely got out of the vehicle before James shot out the door and barreled into his aunt's arms, immediately nestling his head in her shoulder.

"Hey kiddo." She greeted him softly, wrapping her arms firm around him. "What's going on? Did you have a good time with Grandma?" she asked. He shook his head no and she sighed. "Yeah… I don't blame you."

"I want to see Mom. I miss her." His tiny voice squeaked.

"Oh kid… you have no idea." She breathed, leading the way to the door. "Your mother misses you _so_ much. And I'm gonna take you to her, ok?" James responded by wrapping his arms tighter around her neck before pulling back to look at her.

"Grandma said that Tillie is away." He began while Jessica turned the key in the lock. She got in the door and leaned down so that his feet would touch the floor. "She said that Mom took her to a birthday party and that she would be away for a while… but that's not true is it?" he asked. Jessica's heart broke at the look on his face. He was too smart for his own good. "Something bad happened, didn't it? I can find her… I promise you, I can. I know all her hiding spots." He offered.

"James…" Jessica squatted down to reach his eye level and smiled. "You are _such_ a good brother, you know it? Tillie is going to be just fine… in fact, I brought some superheroes back to go with me when I go pick her up. Would you like to meet them?" she looked back at the three men that stood behind her, bags in hand. James nodded and she stood back up. "James, this is Special Agent Aaron Hotchner." She pointed. "Special Agent Derek Morgan, and Dr. Spencer Reid."

"Hi." The little boy waved.

"Hey there big guy." Morgan smiled. "You said you know all of your sister's hiding places? Did you guys ever play at the park?" James nodded and he continued. "Did she have a special hiding spot there?"

"One time she hid under the leaves." He answered. "I almost stepped on her."

"Good… that's good kid. Anywhere else?"

"There's a tunnel under the bridge." He whispered. "Mom doesn't like us to go under there…" he added nervously.

"We checked it." Jessica shook her head, looking at Morgan. "You ready to go see Mom and Dad?" she asked James. He nodded his head and shot off down the hallway into one of the bedrooms.

"I don't think he should go, Jessica." An older woman voiced from the door frame into the kitchen. "Let him stay here with me. He shouldn't see her like that… and he certainly doesn't need to know the seriousness of this situation." She added.

"Mom…" Jessica pointed out. "Mom, these are Agents Hotchner, Morgan, and Dr. Reid." She introduced. "This is my mother, Jana. They nodded their hellos and Jessica defended her decisions. "There's no point in keeping him in the dark. The longer we keep him from seeing Ken and Bridget, the more questions he's going to ask about Tillie. It's the lesser of two evils." She sighed.

"I can answer his questions." Her mother pointed out. "And while we're on the subject, I don't think you should be on this case. Let them conduct their investigation… you need to be with your family."

"I need to be out there finding her, Mom. And now's not a good time to have this conversation. We need to get going." Jessica turned back to face the hallway and called for James who came running back with a stuffed dog that looked like it had been drug through the mud on more than one occasion.

"When I get scared, Mr. Scruffles helps me." He held up the dog. "Can we take him to Tillie?" he asked Jessica.

"Of course." She complied, taking the dog from his hand. She led them all back out to the SUV; James wanted to ride up front with Jessica, and rather than lecture him on the law, she allowed him to do so under the circumstances. She sat the stuffed animal on the console, glancing at it from time to time as she drove them all to the hospital; her eyes glistened from the tears and she was grateful for the sunglasses she wore to hide them from the little boy sitting beside her. She started up the vehicle and as she was reversing, she felt his tiny hand grab hers and she smiled. "I love you, kid." She beamed, squeezing it tight.

"I love you too."

Everyone in the vehicle knew better than to discuss the case while James was with them, so Morgan took the opportunity to help lighten the mood. "So James…" he began. "Your Aunt Jessica and I used to work together." He added.

"I know…" he responded. "She said you were superheroes." His face lit up with the last line.

"That's right, kid." He smiled. "Did you know that your aunt is a superhero too?"

"Her super power is being able to find people." James nodded enthusiastically. "Right now we're playing a game with my sister. She's going to find her." He beamed, looking at Jessica.

"You got it." Morgan nodded. "So James… what's your favorite thing about Aunt Jessica?" he asked.

"Ummmm…." The little boy thought out-loud. "I have a room at her house!" he exclaimed. "She lets me build forts."

"Forts, huh? That's pretty sweet." Morgan replied. "How old are you?"

"Six." He answered, holding up his fingers. "Aunt Jess says I'm old enough to get a job. Can I be a superhero too?" Jessica laughed at the statement and squeezed his hand.

"It was a joke, kiddo." She teased.

"You already are a superhero." Morgan answered, causing the little boy to grin from ear to ear.

Jessica looked in the rearview mirror and met Morgan's eyes._"Thank you."_ She mouthed, eliciting a nod of acceptance from him. He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed encouragingly before looking back to his colleagues.

When they arrived at the hospital, Jessica got James out of the car and started to the self-opening doors with Hotch beside her. She looked behind her and Morgan had pulled Reid back behind them.

"We'll catch up." He called out to them. Jessica nodded and she and Hotch took the boy inside. Once he saw the doors close behind him, he looked at the younger agent and furrowed his brow. "So, you want to tell me what the hell you're doing here?" he asked. "Prentiss got the other seat… not you." He clarified.

"Does it matter?" Reid asked.

"Yeah it matters. You sure you being here is the best thing? She's distracted enough as it is… is there something between you that could compromise this case?"

"That's really a question for her, don't you think?" Reid's eyes narrowed and he walked to the doors. Morgan stood back for a moment and sighed before reluctantly following.

"Agent Reid, FBI." Reid said to the woman at the front desk, flashing his badge. "I need to know what room Bridget Taylor is in, please."

"Taylor… Taylor…" the woman repeated, typing away at her computer. "That would be room 328. Elevators are just around the corner." She smiled at him and he followed Morgan to the elevators.

* * *

Sam laughed at his brother as they landed in Indianapolis. Dean's grip on the arm rest was powerful enough to choke the life out of any living organism. His breathing was labored and his face was pale. Dean hated flying; Sam knew it, so he knew that no matter how much Dean argued he was definitely not over her. After pulling their duffels out of the overhead compartment, they exited the terminal to see Kendall visibly frustrated while on his phone.

"I gotta go, but I'll be back soon." He closed his phone as the brothers walked up. "Thanks so much for coming."

"Thanks for the free plane ride." Sam replied, shaking Kendall's hand. Dean followed suit and gave a half-smile. "Dean here really enjoyed it."

"Yeah, yeah… so you said you thought this was in our realm of expertise." Dean started. "What makes you think that?"

"I think you should see it for yourself." Kendall answered, pulling out his keys. "We should get going."

When they pulled up to the Taylor family home, Dean whistled in approval. "Moving on up, huh Kendall?" he cat-called at the sight of the larger two story house.

"Yeah well, new baby means new job and new paycheck which leads to new house." He muttered in response.

"New baby? Hey, congrats." Sam offered.

"Thanks… she's due in four months. We've been getting everything ready and then this…" he opened the door and led them upstairs to what they collected to be Matilda's room. "After I got the phone call, I came up here to see if anything looked out of place like Jess suggested, and… I found this." He pointed to the window sill.

"I don't see anything." Dean shrugged.

"That's because it's _outside_." He opened the window and the brothers looked down, seeing the red streak. They had seen this before, and it wasn't pretty. After seeing the look they shared with one another, Kendall began to worry. "Oh god… what is it? Is my baby ok? Look… I know the kind of life my father-in-law led, but he's dead now. What would want revenge on a dead man?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… it's a little early to be jumping to conclusions like that." Dean stalled his rant. "Now, there are no trees by this window… no terrace. It would be hard to climb in or out of it. I think you're right… I think this is our kind of case, but I wouldn't say this had anything to do with your family. These things are sick sons of bitches that target children in any family… in any situation."

"What things?" Kendall asked nervously.

"Does Bridget have any strange wound patterns on the back of her neck? It would look like a bruise, but in a specific pattern." Sam asked.

"I-I-I don't know… we can go see her if you'd like. Jess is actually waiting for me there… impatiently, if I might add."

"It's probably best that she not know we're here." Dean interjected. "Especially since the two of us aren't exactly on the FBI's friendly list."

"Agreed." Kendall nodded.

Walking down the long hospital corridor, Dean was reminded of his stint at the hospital and the death of his father. He shook it off and continued to follow Kendall down a new hallway when Sam yanked him back. "What the hell, dude?" he scoffed.

"She's down there. I saw her… we stay back from here on." He eyed at Kendall when he turned back. "Take pictures if you can." He added. Kendall nodded and rounded the corner again to meet his sister.

"Jess." Kendall breathed as he greeted her with a hug. She returned the embrace, holding him tight before pulling back. "How is she?" he asked, motioning to the door.

"She's depressed… she blames herself. She's in with a couple of agents I brought back from the BAU, but this is Derek Morgan." She pointed to the man talking to James a few feet away from them. Kendall caught James' eye and the little boy shot off to his father who picked him up and held him tight.

"Hey there big guy." He soothed. "Did you have fun with Grandma?"

"No." his response was muffled into Kendall's shirt.

"Yeah… I don't blame you." He smirked slightly.

"That's what I said." Jessica half-smiled. "I love her, but she sure does know how to suck the life out of a room." She sighed.

"Derek Morgan." Morgan held his hand out that Kendall shook.

"Kendall Taylor." He replied. "Can I go in?" he asked, eyeing the door.

"Of course." Morgan nodded. "Go on… we've still got him." Kendall tried to smile in thanks and entered the room; Hotch and Reid made their way out moments later.

"So?" Jessica asked, hopeful.

"She's not talking much. She did mention that Matilda had been rather attached to her lately… did you notice any of that?" Hotch asked.

"No… but I've been busy with work. I haven't had a lot of time with them lately because of the Indy Rapist case." She shook her head. "So you're thinking abuse?"

"Possibly. It's hard to know for sure… your sister is severely depressed." Reid explained. "We're not going to get a whole lot of information from her in this state. We need to talk to Kendall alone."

"Right… sure." Jessica nodded slowly, knowing where this was going.

"You're being unusually calm… you know the line of questioning." Hotch mentioned nervously. "Most people yell… get angry."

"I know he's not guilty of anything. And I know that you have to ask the questions, so you might as well do it without me getting in the way." She motioned to the door. "Want me to get him back out here?"

"No… give him some time with her." Morgan shook his head.

"Ok, Taylor and I will go check out the park. Reid, stay with Morgan and talk to Kendall. Is there somewhere he can go?" Hotch asked pointing at James.

"Let him stay here with his parents. My mom will be on her way soon to pick him up." Jessica walked further down the hall to her nephew and knelt down. "Hey kid… I'm gonna go with Agent Hotchner to find Tillie, ok? You're gonna stay here with Mom and Dad until Grandma comes to pick you up."

"I wanna go with you." He shook his head.

"Oh kid… I want that too, but now's not a good time. I'll see you back at my house tonight ok? Grandma is gonna go back to your house so it's just gonna be us tonight, ok?" she explained. He nodded and threw his arms around her; she returned the hug and walked him into the room with his parents before making her way back to the three men. "Let's go." She breathed at Hotch. "We'll call." She promised, her eyes connecting once again with Reid's. He gave her a small smile and she returned it before walking down the hallway with her former boss.

Sam knew she was headed their direction and pulled his brother behind a vending machine while he stood with his back to her. He felt eyes as he heard her shoes and grimaced, hoping she didn't see. He breathed a sigh of relief as the sound continued to pass and eventually became out of range. "This might be harder than we thought, Dean." He said quietly. "How are we going to keep tip-toeing around the feds?"

"We'll figure it out."


	24. Closer to the Edge

Twenty-four. Closer to the Edge

"A _changeling_?" Kendall asked, jaw agape. "No… I can't deal with this right now." He shook his head.

"Honey… calm down." Bridget demanded. She looked at her visitors with widened eyes. "You're sure about this?"

"By the looks of your neck, she's been gone for a little over a week." Sam nodded. "She's been feeding off of you." He explained.

"But you already knew that." Dean interjected, looking at Bridget. "Didn't you?"

"Of course she didn't!" Kendall answered defensively. "What the hell kind of question is that?"

"Let _her_ answer the question." Dean replied sternly.

"Yes." She whispered, looking at her hands.

"Bridge?" Kendall began. "What is he talking about? You knew something was wrong? Is that why you kept talking like she wasn't coming back?" he started getting frantic.

"Ken…" she begged, looking into his eyes.

"No. Where's my daughter, Bridget?" he raised his voice. "Where is Matilda?" he repeated after her silence.

"I don't know." She shouted back. "Don't you think that if I knew, I would be in this damn hospital bed? If I had the chance, I would've killed the son of a bitch before he even had the chance to touch her!"

"Ok, ok… whoa." Sam stepped in. "Let's just calm down for a minute." He raised his palms to silence them. "If you knew what she was, then you know that your daughter was still alive." She nodded in agreement and Sam continued. "So why don't you tell us what happened. Uninterrupted." He added, looking at Kendall.

"I had my suspicions. After seeing the bruise, I pretty much knew." She sighed. "So I told it that I knew… I told that _thing_ that I would kill it if it didn't take me to my child. My _real_ child." She emphasized.

"So you took it to the park." Dean continued. "Was there even a party that day?"

"No." she shook her head. "There's a tunnel under the bridge… that's where it said Matilda was. But it was a set up… the mother got to me first. She must've thought I was dead, because I don't have any other explanation as to why they left me there. She took it with her… and now I don't know if I'll ever see my baby again." Her eyes glazed over with tears and she looked at her husband. "I'm so sorry… I should have told you. I thought I could handle it."

"You should have told me." He agreed, choking on his own emotions. "You could've been killed. You could've gotten the baby hurt." He continued. "But all we can do now is look for her. Let _them_ do it." He pointed at Sam and Dean.

"The FBI… will they be in your way?" Bridget squeaked.

"We have to be careful." Sam nodded. "If we get spotted, I don't think we'll be able to get ourselves out of trouble."

"I'll talk to Jess." Kendall spoke up. "Surely there's something she can do… it's her case."

"Not anymore." Bridget corrected him. "She turned it over to the BAU. Her role in this is limited now."

"I'll talk to her." Dean sighed. "I was hoping to avoid this, but it's probably better that she finds out from me."

* * *

Aaron Hotchner crouched down to peer into the tunnel under the park's bridge. He pulled out a tiny flashlight from his pocket and shined it up and down the walls lining the tiny space when something shiny caught his eye. Upon further glance, he recognized the metallic red smear and stood back to face his new partner. Her eyes filled with worry and he sighed. "There's blood." He allowed the words to escape from his mouth.

"What?" her eyes narrowed in confusion. "No, that's not right… we checked this tunnel yesterday." She argued before grabbing the flashlight from his hand to look herself. She bent down and crawled partially into the tunnel when he heard her shout. "Hotch!"

"What is it?" he met her at her level and tried to see past her.

"There's some sort of latch down here. We didn't notice it before because we didn't come down this far." He heard her grunt followed by a clinging sound and he assumed she was trying to open it. "It looks like it leads to the sewers… I'm going down there."

"Taylor, wait. We need to call Reid and Morgan and get your men down here first." He declined.

"You make the call… I'm checking this out." He heard the muffled voice, meaning she was already moving further away from him.

"Damnit." He muttered to himself, pulling out his phone. "Can you get to the park?" he asked Morgan when he answered.

"_Yeah… There's a guy here… Sheffield. Says he's one of Taylor's… I'll get him to take us to you."_

"Good." He replied. "And hurry… we found something." He ended, closing his phone and crawling into the tunnel after Jessica.

"This guy is smart. We had park layouts in our search and this isn't on them. He knows his way around the sewers, which means he may work for the city… or he's just gross." She spoke as she continued shining the light all around her. Her foot hit something solid and she shined the light down and gasped. "Oh my god… body!" she yelled back behind her.

Hotchner quickly made his way down the hole and knelt down beside the small body she had discovered. "It's a little boy." He nearly whispered. "I'll stay down here. Morgan and Reid are on their way with one of your men… Sheffield?"

"Good. I'll wait for them and get them down here." She nodded, turning to crawl back up into the tunnel. The light hit her eyes when she surfaced and she groaned, squeezing her eyes shut. She pulled out her phone and waited for the reception to come back before dialing her partner. "Adam? We found a vent into the sewers from the tunnel at the park. There's a body." She sighed.

"_Are you ok?"_ the voice came back, worried.

"It's not her." She replied, knowing his intentions. "It's a little boy. I'm calling in a bus, but no one goes down there until we check it out."

"_Understood. We're pulling in right now. Meet you at the tunnel."_

"Bring flashlights. We're all going to need them." She heard the line click and went back down to wait with Hotch. "He knows where to take them. Can you tell anything from looking at him?"

"He can't be any more than ten years old. I don't want to move him." He answered.

"Yeah, yeah… got it." She tried to push back the thoughts of the smells and thoughts of her niece lying somewhere in the same predicament as this little boy. "You got gloves?"

"Reid carries them on him. You want to examine him here?" he asked, puzzled.

"Why not? When I call in the medics, they're just going to destroy any shot we have of getting ahead of this guy. I went to med school… give me a chance." He nodded and heard voices heading in their direction.

"They're here." Jessica nodded in response and ran back to the small vent to call for them. Morgan came down first, followed by Reid and Sheffield last. He handed her a large flashlight and she nodded in thanks.

"Reid, gloves?" she asked. He dug in his bag and pulled out a pair for her to put on.

"Wait, you're going to do this down here? Shouldn't we get him to the surface first? Maybe wait for the medics?" Morgan asked.

"I haven't called them yet." She replied, not looking back. "I know what I'm doing. Once we get him up there, we risk losing evidence." She knelt back down beside Hotch and very gently picked up the boy's hand, spreading the fingers and shining the light over them.

"I'll do that." Hotch offered, taking the light from her. "Just tell me where to go." She nodded and continued up his arm, feeling for any abnormalities.

"Wait… go back. Mid-forearm." She turned the arm over and Hotch lit her way. "See that?" she pointed.

"No. See what?" he asked.

"I don't see veins." She pointed out.

"So?" Morgan asked.

"So even after blood flow stops, you should still be able to see traces of the veins on the skin. This kid doesn't have that." She continued.

"What does that mean?" Hotch asked.

"His blood's been drained." Reid spoke up. "He doesn't look like he's been badly treated… you know… other than being dead. This wasn't a torture game."

"But how did he drain it?" Sheffield asked, walking up behind Jessica.

"Here." She pointed to his neck. "You have to push his hair back a little, but there's a definite hole here on his neck."

"That would've taken forever." Morgan pointed out. "Look how tiny that is… no way that's cause of death. He would've been dead for hours and that doesn't seem to be the case."

"No. The body is definitely fresh." Jessica agreed. "I'm gonna make the call now." She stood up and smoothed down the bottom of her dress before hoisting herself back up into the tunnel and out into the park. She put in the call for the coroner and ran a hand over her face before dialing the next number. She waited for the call to pick up and when she heard the voice on the other end, her voice sunk. "Hi." She sighed.

"_Well… it's been some time since I've heard from you."_ The gruff voice responded. _"How the hell ya been?"_

"I've been better, Bobby." She answered. "Look, I'd love to catch up with you, but I've got some questions."

"_Ok… what's the problem?"_

"What do you know of that can drain the blood of a child through a small hole in the neck? I mean, small… Bobby… it's no larger than a pencil prick. It's right in the middle of the jugular and the wound is completely clean. I can't find a drop of blood anywhere."

"_You said a child?"_ he asked, astonished. _"That'll narrow it down for sure… only certain things feed on kids. You sure this is something supernatural and not just some sick bastard?"_

"I don't know." She admitted. "I just have this feeling in my gut and I wanted to…"

"_You wanted to talk to me before you decided to talk to Dean."_ Bobby filled in the blanks. _"Sweetheart, that boy would do anything for you. If you think you could use him, call him."_

"Please, Bobby?"

"_I'll do some research and let you know what I find."_ He gave in.

"Thanks. I'll wait for the coroner's report before I make any decisions." She explained. "I'll talk to you soon. I promise."

"_You better. Bye, Jess."_ He responded and hung up. Sighing, Jessica turned back toward the tunnel to see Reid staring at her from its entrance.

"The medics are on their way." She started nervously, unsure of how long he had been there.

"Right." He nodded, allowing her past him. He watched her crawl back down underground and shook his head before following her.

"Sheffield, you're with me." She announced when she came across her partner. "You got lights?" he nodded and handed her a flashlight which she crossed with her firearm and looked at Hotchner. "You guys wait here for the medics; we're gonna go see what else is down here."

"Not alone." Hotch corrected her.

"I'm not alone." She debated, knowing what he meant. "Fine." She sighed. "Send one of yours with us."

"Reid, you're with her." Hotch ordered, clearing his throat. "We had an agreement."

"Right. Let's go, Reid." She tilted her head in signal for him to follow.

"One of yours?" Morgan scoffed. "She does realize she used to be one of us?"

"Let it go." Hotch ordered softly. He couldn't begin to imagine what she must be going through. If something ever happened to Jack, he would surely lose his shit. He actually admired the composure she had amidst this situation.

Jessica heard Morgan's anger as she ventured further into the sewers and was grateful for Hotch's understanding. She tried thinking of anything to keep her mind off of the possibility of her niece ending up in the same state as that little boy… if she wasn't already.

"You can't think like that." Sheffield's voice cut into her thoughts. "It's all over your face." He explained when she gave him a look of confusion.

"It's just… I know the odds." Her voice sunk. "And if I didn't, statistics boy here would enlighten me." She pointed at Reid, flinching immediately knowing how insulting that statement must've been. "God… Spence… I'm sorry." She offered.

"It's ok." He answered meekly.

"No… it's not. Really, I'm sorry." She repeated.

"So what's the plan here, Jess?" Sheffield asked, changing the subject. "Wait… this is a dead end." He announced, shining his light over a rusted out wall a few feet away.

"No… there's got to be another outlet. It's gotta be somewhere." She answered in disbelief. Reid walked forward and ran a hand over the wall before shining his flashlight up and down to look for another way out.

"He's right." Reid agreed. "There's nothing here."

"We're just not looking in the right spot." She argued. "She's here. She's gotta be here." She began to get frantic. "Matilda!" she shouted, banging her fists against the wall. "Matilda Grace!" she continued to pound her fists against the cold concrete; she could feel the sting from her flesh removing itself from her knuckles, but she didn't care. She could hear the voices behind her telling her to stop, but she didn't care. It wasn't until she felt two arms envelope her to drag her backwards that she began to kick and scream louder.

"What the hell?" Morgan yelled, running in the direction of the yelling. He saw the commotion taking place in front of him; Agent Sheffield was carrying Jessica back away from what appeared to be a dead end. She slipped free from his grasp and connected a hard fist with his jaw line before running back to the wall. Morgan chose to act and ran to her, pulling her back by her arms to avoid getting hit himself. "Taylor, Taylor… can you hear me?" he shouted at her, trying to get louder than she was, she was still screaming Matilda's name. "Taylor!" he shouted again, pinning her up against the wall, planting one leg between hers to prevent her from escaping.

"Matilda…" she sobbed in defeat, her fists slowly unclenching. She rested her cheek against the wall and her cries got more intense. She started to fall, but Morgan caught her, sinking to the ground with her. He pulled her closer to him and she buried her face in his shoulder, shaking with tears.

"You ok?" Hotch asked Sheffield, pointing to his face.

"I'm good." He nodded. "She's got a mean left hook." He added, stretching out his jaw.

"We should take her home." Hotch stated to Morgan. "The coroner is taking the boy up now. She doesn't need to be here." Morgan nodded in agreement and sighed. He grabbed one of her hands and felt the sticky blood that was caked on her fingers.

"We're gonna find her, Jessica. I promise." He whispered.

* * *

Light flooded in and Jessica slowly opened her eyes, staring into the face of her nephew who was still asleep. She smiled a little and tried to sit up; instantly she felt the sting in her hands and her head throbbed. Groaning, she let her head fall back onto the pillow in the fort she had helped James build. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to fall back to sleep.

"Aunt Jess." The whisper pulled her out of her slumber. She blinked a few times and saw James sitting up in his Spiderman sleeping bag, holding onto his stuffed dog.

"Hey kid…" she whispered back, biting back the pain as she sat up to match him. She could see the stains on his face from tears and her heart broke. "James?"

"I miss Tillie… and Mom and Dad." He sniffled. "Why did they leave me?"

"Oh kiddo…" she tried to smile and brushed a tear from his cheek. "No one left you sweetheart." She assured him, pulling him to sit in her lap. She rocked him back and forth as he cried and she tried to sooth him. "Your mom and dad are coming home soon, James, and we're looking for Tillie, remember?" Her eyes welled up and she clamped them shut to force the tears away. When she reopened them, she saw a figure in the doorway. "Ken…" she sighed, her eyes still adjusting to having contacts in overnight. "James, your dad is here. I told you they didn't leave you." She nudged him. He stood up and ran to his father, jumping in his arms almost immediately.

"Hey Jess… how are you feeling?" Kendall asked, entering the room with his son in his arms.

"I'm fine." She answered, dismissing his concern.

"That's not what I hear. They said you had a meltdown yesterday." He argued, keeping his voice soft as to not alarm James.

"It was nothing."

"Nothing? So that's why they brought you back bleeding and in bandages?" he shot back, covering James' ears. "Tell me what's going on."

"You know I can't discuss the case with you." She shook her head.

"Screw that, Jess." He retorted, his voice getting harsh. "Tell me what the hell happened yesterday." Jessica stared him down for a few moments before eyeing James. Kendall took the hint and put the boy down. "Hey, James… I brought Mommy home. She wants to see you so bad… she's in the living room." He nodded toward the hallway.

"Mommy?" he squeaked.

"Yep. She's waiting for you." Kendall smiled back. He watched James run down the hallway and waited for the squeal of excitement before looking back to his sister. "Now what happened?" he asked, smile faded.

"It's probably good that you hear this from me rather than from some suit that doesn't give a damn." She sighed, rationalizing her actions aloud.

"Jess, what?"

"We found a body yesterday." She began. She saw his face grow pale and caught his hands in hers. "It wasn't Matilda. It wasn't her."

"Oh my god." He gasped.

"It was a little boy… about ten years old. We found her below the tunnel under the bridge at the park. There's some sort of enclosed sewer system down there. It's not on the park plans… no one knew about it." She continued. "Kendall… the way he died… I don't think this is a case for us." She shook her head.

"What do you mean?" he asked, getting worried.

"I mean, I examined the boy myself. I just can't explain it… I don't think it's _humanly_ possible, what happened to him." She sighed. "I called Bobby. He's supposed to get back to me on what it could be, but I honestly think that I need to ask the BAU to pack it up and go home."

"I know what it is." Kendall said softly.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"Bridget isn't the only person in the living room. There's someone here you need to talk to." He finished slowly. Her eyes grew wide and she knew where he was going.

"You didn't." she whispered.

"I didn't know what else to do." Kendall defended himself.

"You could've _told_ me!" she nearly shrieked. "I don't believe this." She turned and began to pace back and forth in the small bedroom.

"Can we not fight? Please?" he pleaded. "I made a decision just like you did. They can help us… I don't see the problem here."

Jessica stared at her brother for what felt like an eternity. "Yeah." She sighed in agreement. "You're right… let's get this started." She gathered her pride and walked past her brother to gain access to the hallway before coming face to face with the man she had tried so desperately to avoid. "Dean." Her blue eyes stared a hole through his intense green ones and a small smile began to dance up his lips.


	25. Hold On For One More Day

**A/N: Merry Christmas! It's only been years since I've updated... between graduation, studying abroad, applying to grad schools, etc., it's been a long time coming! I hope to be able to keep up with it better now :)**

Twenty-five. Hold On For One More Day.

"How are you holding up?" Sam asked, motioning to her bandaged hands.

"I don't really want to commence with small talk if that's ok." She replied. "Ken said you know what this thing is?"

"It's a changeling." Dean interrupted. "We need to find the mother. We find the mother, we torch her, you get Matilda back." He finished.

"Ok. Where do we start?" Jessica asked, running one hand through her hair nervously.

"We go back to the tunnel." Sam answered. "And this time, we go prepared."

"I'll go get dressed and we can hit the road." Jessica agreed.

"Who said you were going?" Dean scoffed. "We've got this covered, you stay put." He demanded.

"Excuse me?" Jessica seethed. "Who the hell do you think you are coming into _my_ house and telling me how to handle _my _problems? I welcome your help, but I'll be damned if you do this without me." She spat. "If you have a problem with that, I suggest you get the hell out of here." She turned to go back down the hallway; the three men flinched as her door slammed behind her.

"She's been on edge lately." Kendall explained.

"Rightly so." Sam offered. "I'm surprised no one got hit."

"Even if she won't comply, I think it's best if you and Bridget stay here." Dean reiterated. "I promise you we know what we're doing. We can't afford any distractions." He paused. "No offense."

"Yeah, I got it." Kendall nodded. "Just please, bring my daughter home. Safe."

"We will." Sam agreed.

* * *

"Hey, we're headed out." Dean announced, tapping on Jessica's door. He opened the door to reveal her tying her shoes. He knew he wasn't supposed to see the tears she wiped on her sleeve, but there was no escaping them. "I uh… I'm sorry if I offended you." He apologized.

"Yeah. Let's just do this." She stood and walked past him.

Once at the Impala, Jessica turned to Sam with determination. "You said we torch it. I suppose you have some sort of flamethrower for that. In the trunk, perhaps?" she questioned.

"Uh, yeah. But we have to find it first." Sam answered, puzzled.

"Calm down, Annie Oakley. We'll get her back. But you have _got_ to trust us." Dean shot in.

Jessica sighed and climbed into the backseat. They were right. She was being way too hyper-vigilant, and that was good for no one. It's why she called in the BAU in the first place. No. She had to trust the Winchesters. It was the only way she would ever see her niece again. "I'm sorry." She breathed as the brothers settled into the vehicle. "You're right. I just… after we found that boy… I can't help but think."

"Hey, she's going to be ok." Sam assured her, looking back at her through the rearview mirror. She nodded in thanks and leaned back in her seat for the ride to the park.

Jessica crawled down the tunnel behind Sam and took his hand when she got to the ledge to jump down. Once upright, she shined her light ever so slowly up and down the concrete walls. "There." She pointed out. "It looks like it could be a door, right?" she questioned, moving closer to the crack she spotted.

"Jess, be careful." Dean warned, closing in behind her. She ignored him and continued her trek about the wall.

When she got to what felt like the end of the wall, she felt a gap between where the wall ended and the perpendicular wall began. "Do you see this?" she motioned behind her.

"What is it?" Sam responded, moving closer to her.

"Here. There's a part of the wall that's missing." She shined the light closer so that both men could see. "Do you have a crowbar?"

"Yeah. I'll go grab it." Sam offered.

Once Dean was certain Sam was out of range, he grabbed Jessica's shoulder and whipped her around to face him. "Are you going to trust us here or are we going to have to keep chasing you around?" he lowered his voice, but amped up the harshness.

"And what exactly is the plan here, Dean?" She snapped back. "Sit back and wait until we find the body? Not gonna happen. This is my _family_, do you get that? You have to take risks to get results and I'm bringing that little girl home. If you can't get behind that, then get out of my damn way."

"You can't do this alone. All I'm asking is that you let us call the shots. We know what we're up against here and I can't risk you getting hurt." He answered, more calm this time.

"Why? Because I'm a fed? You scared of being on the run again?" she mocked.

"Because I love you, damnit!" he cut her off, raising his voice.

Jessica froze. She kept Dean's gaze until Sam's voice snapped her away.

"Hey, uh… everything ok?" Sam looked between his brother and Jessica, suddenly feeling incredibly awkward. "Here" He managed, handing Dean the crowbar.

Dean hooked one end through the gap and with all his might was able to pull the wall back enough for him to squeeze through. "There's another tunnel back here." He alerted, reaching his hand through to help Jessica.

"I've got it." She protested, yet accepted his hand anyway. The touch alone sent a shot of electricity through the both of them and once she was through she pulled her hand away. Sam grunted his way in after them and handed Jessica the flashlight.

Jessica shined the light onto the wall beside her to see if the tunnel moved in any other direction. When she got her answer, she continued to move the light in front of her. A limp form lay on the ground a few feet away; blonde hair and tiny shoes were all that could be made out. "Oh my god." Jessica breathed, covering her mouth and backing away.

"Stay here. Let me check it out." Dean demanded. Sam held on to her for comfort and they both watched as Dean moved towards the body. He rolled the body onto its back and looked back up at Sam and Jessica. "I think it's her." He motioned. He looked back down and saw her eyes flash open – by then it was too late. The girl grabbed Dean's wrist and threw him over her side into the tunnel wall with extreme force.

"Dean!" Sam yelled. The girl stood up slowly and walked towards them with a calm that disturbed Jessica to her core. "Jess, get back." Sam warned. He pulled out the flamethrower from his jacket and fired a warning shot at the little girl, causing her to retreat further down the tunnel.

"Dean, are you alright?" Jessica asked, helping him up. Dean was shocked at her concern, but went with it anyway.

"Yeah, I'm good." He answered. "Either that's not Matilda, or your niece got hell-bitch strength in the past year."

"Are you embarrassed you got your ass kicked by a four-year-old?" Sam jeered.

"Shut it." Dean warned. "Let's see where this thing goes." He motioned down the tunnel.

"What's the plan now?" Jessica asked, nervously.

"We follow it to where it's keeping Matilda. Then we kill it."


End file.
